Of Hunters and Agents
by night flame miko
Summary: When Tony, Gibbs and Dean are trapped in an underground survival course by a copy-cat serial killer, what will they do to survive? Will two Agents work with a wanted murderer in order to escape? And is everything as it seems?
1. Chapter 1

_**Of Hunters and Agents**_

_**By Night Flame Miko**_

_**An**__: Because every Supernatural fanfiction author needs a cross-over with some version of a crime series :)_

_Also people, you don't have to worry. This is the first story I've written where I've actually already finished it. So you will definitely be getting an ending! Though I will be spacing the chapters by at least a couple of days, so that people have time to give proper criticism to each ^-^_

_Thank you._

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing but this plot._

xXx

When Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo woke up, it was not as immediately obvious as it would be for most people. His position didn't change, his eyes remained closed and his breathing was still regular. This was largely in part because Tony was aware that waking up with your back to a wall, held upright by your hands cuffed over your head was not his usual way of returning to consciousness. Granted, it wasn't _that_ unusual either, but he was fairly certain he hadn't been to any parties lately.

Cautiously opening his eyes when there was no sound of movement nearby, Tony glanced around the bare concrete room only to be pulled up short at the sight of his boss hanging in a similar position a few feet to Tony's left, and on the opposite wall another guy was obviously still out cold. There was something familiar about him, but at that moment Tony had more pressing things to worry about then his fellow prisoner.

"Dinozzo. Report."

Starting, Tony looked back at his boss only to be greeted by hard eyes and a stern frown. Gulping and wondering how long Gibbs had been awake and watching him scan the room Tony's mouth kicked in automatically whilst his brain caught up.

"Judging by our circumstances I believe we've been kidnapped by the copycat serial killer we've been trying to put away, Boss. From what we know, the killer nabs people who are physically fit and more often than not they have some form of defensive training; he then gives his victims roughly 7 hours to escape from an elaborate survival course he has set up somewhere underground." Tony paused a moment, thinking about what was known on the killer before continuing,

"If the victim doesn't manage to escape then their body is found sometime the next day, usually asphyxiated, but it is not unknown for them to have been stabbed. The killer lets his victims keep whatever they have on them, unless it's a gun, and they also have use of their mobiles although the signal is scrambled so it can't be tracked. The same for any GPS locators."

Tony briefly let his eyes drift around the room, noting the continued unconsciousness of the guy across from them as well as the location of a closed door along one wall. Presumably they were expected to begin through there.

"At some point the signal will cut off, this is apparently done so as to lower the victims morale and cause distress in any family the victim may have contacted during that time. There is no set limit for how long the signal will last, there have been varying reports ranging from 30 minutes up to 4 hours. Usually strangers are chosen and it can be 3-4 victims picked at any one time...it's actually all pretty Saw-ish though hopefully we'll come out of it better than..."

Seeing Gibbs' look, Tony trailed off and gave a slightly nervous chuckle, "I'll just shut up now."

Gibbs didn't acknowledge that, instead scanning the room himself before he focussed on the guy opposite them. His eyes narrowed for a moment as he took in _who_ exactly shared their underground prison with them.

"Looks like things just got worse Dinozzo."

Tony blinked, having been briefly distracted with tugging at the cuffs, he had tried looking up at them but the angle was awkward and he had nothing to even attempt at pick-locking it.

"What is it Boss?" Looking over at Gibbs, he followed his line of sight to the guy hanging opposite them.

"It seems we've been trapped with Dean Winchester."

Tony paused, tried to run that sentence through his head again, but got the same answer. Suddenly his vague familiarity with the guy got a lot more sinister.

"Wait, wait...what? As in...but I thought he was dead?"

All government personnel were required to know the bio's of those who made it into the FBI's 'Top Ten Most Wanted', Dean Winchester and his brother had been more memorable than most not only because of their rather wide-ranged MO's but also because they lasted far longer than the average perps, managing to escape the FBI and all their known and unknown affiliates for roughly a year before apparently dying in a helicopter explosion. Or at least they were supposed to be dead, it was rather a given that if Dean was alive, then his younger brother was as well.

"So what do we do?"

It was bad enough that they had been caught by the copycat serial killer, but to be trapped in what was essentially an underground maze with an infamous psychopath? Fuuuck.

"Stay focused Dinozzo. First, can you escape from your cuffs?" At Tony's headshake Gibbs grimaced. "Me neither. Winchester, on the other hand, is a known escape artist. He will undoubtedly be able to escape fairly quickly. We will have to rely on him to get us outta them."

Tony could only blink at that.

"Why would he help _us_? We're NCIS Agents, and it's well known he hates cops of any kind."

Gibbs gave Tony the look that meant he was being especially thick and he would like him to start thinking for himself sometime within the next few seconds. "Then we don't _tell_ him we're cops Dinozzo. I'm a retired marine, you're my nephew and came to visit me from Baltimore where you just made it into the Police Academy. That way any slip ups in terminology and experience can be explained without Winchester getting suspicious or violent. As much as I hate to admit it, Winchester is well known for his survival skills and could be very useful in escaping this hell hole."

Tony barely thought about it before agreeing, he trusted Gibbs judgement in situations like these...make that pretty much all situations actually.

"Got it Boss." They were quiet for a short while before Tony couldn't help the smirk,

"You finally get your dream Boss. To be unofficially related to me."

Gibbs looked like he sorely wanted to hit Tony, and was making note of this moment so he could do so when they weren't...tied up. Tony winced but that didn't stop the smirk forming into a grin at the lack of outright denial.

They were silent a few minutes before a thought came to Tony and Gibbs pretty much instantly focussed his attention on him in that intense way of his, by now Tony was used to it and simply explained his idea.

"Maybe we should pretend to still be unconscious. If he's as good as they say he is he'll probably escape pretty quickly and he could reveal something that would be useful."

People tended to spout potentially useful things when waking up in situations like these, like if Winchester was already awake (God forbid), then he would know that they knew not only who he was and that he's alive, but also that they were cops. Casting a nervous glance at the unconscious figure he seriously hoped that the guy was still out of it.

"Good work Dinozzo. Start now; we probably won't know when he wakes up."

Nodding, Tony let himself relax despite the cuffs digging into his sore wrists, dropping his head to his chest he watched Gibbs do the same before closing his eyes and preparing himself for a potentially long wait.

xXx

28 minutes later

xXx

Like Gibbs said, there was nothing to warn them that Winchester had woken up. One second the guys apparently dead to the world, the next there's a short sharp, "Fuck!" and the sound of some movement.

Cracking his eyes open slightly, Tony watched as Winchester eyed his surroundings before twisting his head up to get a look at his cuffs.

"Shit. Sammy's going to be sooo pissed. 'Way to go Dean. Look what you managed to do Dean. Looks like you're catching up Dean.' I'll show you who gets kidnapped more often ya little..."

Tony was almost tempted to crack a grin at the little diatribe, especially when Winchester spoke in a high voice, obviously imitating his brothers 'whining'. That temptation was rapidly lost as Winchester pulled himself up, fished a piece of metal out of the seam along his jacket sleeve and picked the lock on his cuffs in less than 15 seconds.

Winchester dropped and rubbing his wrists he glanced at Tony and Gibbs, almost causing Tony to forget to breathe. He felt incredibly helpless, which was actually quite understandable considering he was cuffed and defenceless with a psychopath known for torture in the room.

But Winchester only gave them a cursory look before swearing once more and pulling out his mobile phone. After tapping in a few numbers he raised it to his ear. They could hear it ring before it picked up and an agitated voice on the other end exclaimed '_Dean_!'.

Winchester chuckled sheepishly; rubbing the back of his head he began what became a rather interesting conversation.

"Hey Sammy. You'll never guess what happened."

'_You got kidnapped_.' The voice was rather deadpan before 'Sammy' chuckled. '_Looks like you're catching up Dean, what's that make it? 10 to my 15?_'

Winchester grumbled to himself before pausing, "Hey waddya mean 15? It was 17 the last time I looked Sammy-boy."

The younger Winchester sounded amused as he answered, "_Dean, if you don't have to count hell as getting 'taken against your will', then I don't have to count the rabbit's foot or the Wraith. Both of those were 'extenuating circumstances' as well_."

Tony mentally paused at the contents of the conversation before remembering that both Winchesters had been described as intensely delusional, to the point of being mentally unstable. Internally wincing at the realisation that he was trapped and restrained with a psychopathic _and _crazy person in the room he re-focussed as Winchester continued.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. So what's happening?" Tony watched through slit eyes as Winchester patted his sides and his pockets, obviously checking that he still had everything before pausing, a grimace crossing his face. "Dude, that asshole took my gun!"

There was a deep sigh on the other end before the younger Winchester continued, "_Dean you _know_ that our guy takes any firearms. It's one of his rules. But you should have everything else. Also the phones will probably work for another hour or two. At least that was the average anyway. Look do you have any idea as to where you are? What does it look like, and can you get out?_"

Winchester glanced around again, his eyes lighting on Tony and Gibbs before narrowing. Tony almost let himself react to the look, but managed to catch himself just in time. "Nah Sammy. I'm definitely underground and this place is emptier then solitary, though there's two guys here with me." Then Winchester was moving towards them and Tony forced himself to completely close his eyes and relax just before his pockets were riffled through and his wallet found. Thank God he had left his badge at home; it was the weekend and they were forced to take a day off after working on this case solidly for two months. It figured they would get nabbed on their one day off.

"I've got two civ's here Sammy. One...Anthony Dinozzo. And the other guy is...Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Winchester snickered before putting both their wallets back where he found them. Presumably Gibbs wasn't wearing his badge either, small mercies. Though being referred to as a civilian was a novel experience for Tony.

"What kind of name is 'Leroy'. His parents must've hated him."

There was another sigh but 'Sammy' persevered. "_Focus Dean. How long do you have before your time runs out?_"

A pause and then; "5 hours and 15 minutes."

"_Ok. That should be enough time for you to get out of there. Just...be careful Dean. If you die again, I'm going to be pissed_."

Winchester chuckled, looking vaguely amused; though to be honest that wasn't what Tony was feeling. He was getting more and more worried about the state of their fellow prisoner's (potential attackers) mental health by the minute.

"Sure Sammy."

Winchester paused before a grin crossed his face that was pure mischief.

"Sammy."

Clearly his brother knew that tone as his reply was wary, "_Yeah Dean_?"

"I bet 20 bucks you can't find me in 2 hours."

There was a moment of silence before the younger replied.

"_You want me to find you in an underground lair that the police haven't managed to discover despite the extensive searches conducted over the past 50 years_?" Winchester just waited, his grin growing wider. "_40 bucks says I can find you _and _our guy in 3_."

"Haha. You're on Sammy-boy. Later."

Ending the call Winchester turned back to them, the amusement having left his features as he regarded both Tony and his boss before finally letting out a sigh.

"Well this sucks. What'm I gonna do with you guys."

xXx

_An: Well there you go. Hope you all enjoyed it, though what do you all think? Things are going to get interesting pretty soon :)_

_-nfm_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Of Hunters and Agents**_

_**By Night Flame Miko**_

_**An**__: I heart this story. Which is actually fairly narcissistic, but I can't stop re-reading it every time I put up a new chapter. :D Also thanks for any reviews, hope you'll enjoy this one as well._

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing but this plot._

xXx

"_Well this sucks. What'm I gonna do with you guys."_

That was something Tony _definitely_ didn't want to hear. Unfortunately he couldn't 'wake up' now without it seeming convenient enough to be suspicious. That was taken out of his hands though when he was suddenly being shaken and found himself automatically looking up and rearing back from Winchester. Fortunately the action seemed fairly natural for someone who's apparently been woken up restrained, to an unknown face in a strange place.

Winchester just grinned at him before pulling out that piece of metal and fiddling with Tony's cuffs. "Hey don't worry, guy. I'm not the baddie here. Seems we managed to get ourselves in a bit of a situation." Winchester took longer with Tony's cuffs than he had done with his own, but Tony supposed it would have seemed suspicious if he had picked them like he was used to doing so. Not that being able to pick handcuffs wasn't already fairly distrustful behaviour. Taking off the cuffs Tony lowered his arms and rubbed his wrists. He gave a wary look at the handcuffs, considering he was a 'Baltimore cop', it would be weird if he didn't. Winchester just grinned and winked before moving over to Gibbs.

Letting his eyes widen as he 'spotted' Gibbs he rushed over and shook his boss, letting himself look as worried and anxious as he truly was considering there was a mentally unstable psychopath right next to the both of them.

"Gibbs! Gibbs, are you ok?"

Gibbs opened his eyes before rolling them in what seemed a surprisingly fond gesture.

"Do I look like I'm ok Tony? I'm cuffed to a wall in some god-forsaken place and you're shakin' me all over the place."

Letting go with a little nervous laugh Tony scratched the back of his head, surprised by the fondly exasperated look Gibbs was sending him. Yeah, they had to act like they were family but it still didn't make it any less surprising when Gibbs _did_.

Winchester reached over and started picking Gibbs cuffs, taking a minute before the cuffs clicked open. Gibbs gave him a mildly distrustful look as he started rubbing his wrists before finally nodding in slight thanks. Winchester shot a look between them before raising an eyebrow.

"So you two know each other then?"

Tony smiled easily, trying to cover his anxiety. Thankfully they were in a situation where some anxiety would be expected anyway. Tony didn't know what he would have done if he had of recognised Winchester walking down a street or something. Probably something stupid that would have gotten him nearly killed.

Not that this was looking much better to be honest.

"Yeah, Gibbs' my uncle. I was visiting him after just getting past the Academy. I've gotten accepted into Baltimore Police." He stated it proudly, like only a newbie (or a probie) could be at joining the force. Before finishing with, "I'm Tony by the way."

Winchester's eyes narrowed slightly but the expression was replaced almost immediately with an easygoing grin, if Tony hadn't known to look for it he would have missed it altogether.

"Police, huh. Well done, then. I guess."

Winchester shook his head slightly and the grin dimmed a bit. "Sorry. I'm not too fond of the police. One too many drunken escapades in my youth got me on my force's bad side."

Tony snorted, grinning. Yeah, 'his force' being all the major law enforcement agencies in the USA. Winchester then turned himself to Gibbs, who had walked over and opened the door whilst they talked. "What about you, old man? You with a force?"

Gibbs shot a dark look over his shoulder at the 'old man' comment before waving it off, turning back to the corridor.

"I'm a retired marine. Clearly I retired a bit early."

At that Winchester's grin returned full force. "Ha. Too true. My old man was a marine. Turned me and my brother's whole lives into survival courses."

God, wasn't that the truth. Completely fucked the two kids up as well, if the stories about their childhoods were accurate.

"Hey man, what's your name anyways?"

Tony asked this as he sidled up to Gibbs, his hands in his pockets. He peered around his boss' shoulder into the hallway. There was some fluorescent lights leading down the corridor, which was bare concrete the whole way except the floor, which seemed to be made up of smaller concrete tiles.

"Dean Winchester."

Tony was glad he was turned away; otherwise Winchester would have seen his surprised expression. He had assumed they would be given a fake name. Surely Winchester wasn't _that_ confident that they didn't know his name? Tony had just revealed that he was a cop for Christ's sake! Granted he was a 'new' one, but still! That seemed a bit reckless.

Quickly regaining his bearings he flashed a smile over his shoulder at Winchester, who was apparently using the time to check his pockets for something. "Dean, huh? So altogether we're Dean, Tony and Gibbs? Looks like too close a set up for Tom, Dick and Harry for my tastes. Hopefully we won't go the way they usually do."

Dean blinked and looked up, seemingly caught off guard before letting out a startled laugh.

"Hey, you're not too bad. For a cop."

Tony grinned slightly, glad that someone was finally appreciating his jokes; before remembering that that someone was an unstable murderer. It was surprisingly hard to keep in mind. "And you're not too bad for a...what'd you say you do again?"

Dean didn't answer right away, as apparently he needed to take out the 3 inch _knife_ he had up his sleeve. Tony stiffened and Gibbs, who had been searching the hallway for a trap or surveillance system, felt it and glanced back before stiffening himself. Winchester, though, didn't notice; as all he did was flip the knife once in a practiced motion before spiriting it back to wherever he kept it. Only then did he look up to answer and Tony nearly missed it, too busy trying to calm his heart back down.

"I'm a part-time bounty hunter."

He said it with such nonchalance that Tony and Gibbs could only stare. If they didn't know any better they would think he was telling the truth, even Gibbs seemed mildly disturbed by Dean's apparent ability to lie. That kind of skill usually only came with either large amounts of practice or psychosis. Unfortunately, in this case it was probably both.

"_Really_?"

Tony couldn't help the disbelieving question, it's not like the guy didn't look the part. It's just..._bounty hunter_? Dean took in their expressions and smirked before the smirk slipped and he got serious.

"Yeah. And I was here for a reason. Look you've heard about the murders right? By that copycat killer?"

Tony nodded and Gibbs tipped his head in what could be interpreted as an affirmative.

"Well..."

Dean spread his hands and grinned a slightly uneasy grin,

"Welcome to Survival 101. Get out in 5 hours or you're toast."

Tony knew the disbelief was showing on his face.

"Wait, so what? You're _hunting_ this guy? And _that's_ how you break it to us that we've been kidnapped by a homicidal serial killer?"

Dean smiled, but the expression was sharp with promise and Tony felt his mouth go dry. He had seen some pretty scary expressions in his time, but never one quite as ruthless as the one _Dean Winchester_ was wearing _right now_. Suddenly the room felt a hell of a lot smaller than it had before.

"Hunting. Yeah, that's _exactly_ what I'm doing." Then Dean's expression lightened and he shrugged. "Hey, it's not too bad. At least it aint Saw."

That caused Tony's throat to close up once again. The fact that a murderer was making the same references as him didn't sit quite right and abruptly the situation seemed a lot more overwhelming than it had earlier.

Dean seemed to notice how pale he had become, Gibbs must have too because Tony felt a reassuring hand appear on his shoulder.

"Hey, man...Tony? You ok?"

"Yeah, it's just...hitting me suddenly, you know? I've never been kidnapped before and..."

Not true, he had been kidnapped a fair few times before; but technically he had never been held along with his boss and one of the FBI's most wanted as fellow prisoners.

Dean, on the other hand, simply snorted and patted him on the back; causing the hairs on the back of Tony's neck to stand on end.

"Yeah well...it's an occupational hazard for me."

There seemed to be no response to that, but before the silence could get too bad Gibbs had reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. They watched as he turned it on before staring at it like he could get it to work the way he wanted through sheer willpower alone. Tony chuckled and reached out to take the phone from his boss. Gibbs never had, and never will be, technologically savvy.

"What d'ya want me to do, Uncle Gibbs."

He couldn't help the teasing note in his voice, and his grin didn't drop even when Gibbs glared the Plague back into his system.

"Get a hold of Abby. She'll help."

Tony froze for a second before doing as his boss asked, wondering what Gibbs was playing at. If Abby said the wrong thing their cover could be blown. He raised the phone to his ear and listened to it ring as Gibbs acknowledged Dean's curious look and offered a rough 'explanation'.

"Abby, she's an...adopted niece of mine, you could say. Though she was the one to adopt me." Gibbs shook his head and the automatic fond look that came on his face whenever he talked to or about Abby only corroborated his story. "She's a forensic scientist, if anyone can find out where we are, she can."

Abby picked up on the fifth ring with her usual enthusiastic,

"Gibbs!"

Which, thank God, just made their story seem more convincing.

"Hey Abby. Sorry, Gibbs couldn't work out the phone and he put me on."

He could practically feel Abby's confusion and then her worry transmit over the phone. "What..._Tony_? What happened? Are you guys alright?"

Tony winced at her worry but hastened to reassure her. If there was once person in the world he always felt guilty about worrying, it was Abby.

"We're fine, Abbs! Just...we may have been kidnapped by that serial killer you and your team were looking for." Again he could feel her confusion and worry escalate and hastened to speak before she could ask some questions that the eavesdropping murderer might be curious about. "Uncle Gibbs mentioned that you were looking for the copycat who's kidnapped us. It's me, Gibbs and a guy called Dean Winchester down here and apparently we only have like...5 hours to get out alive. Can you try and do some of your forensic-y stuff to find us?"

He could practically feel as Abby comprehended the situation and he could have kissed her. If ever there was a time that her interest in the occult had helped them, it was now. There was no way she could have _not_ remembered the Winchesters. He listened as she let out a trembling breath before audibly strengthening her resolve.

"Yeah, ok Tony. I'm assuming you guys were taken from where you were staying?"

At Tony's verbal agreement she 'hmmed' slightly and there was some movement in the background as she made her way out of her apartment and to her car. "Right. Then I'll drive to the lab, you keep yours and Gibbs' phone on, ya hear? I need to be able to keep in touch with you for as long as possible. Also...be safe alright? Don't do anything...stupid."

i.e. Don't piss off either murderer. Gotcha.

"Sure thing Abbs. Call us back when you get something, alright?"

Gibbs then took the phone before they could end the call and spoke, his voice calm and reassuring,

"We'll be fine Abbs. We've all got some good training and will get out of this alive. Don't you worry." In other words, it was two against one if the worst came to the worst and both Tony and Gibbs could handle themselves in a fight.

They could hear her take in another trembling breath before speaking in a slightly watery tone,

"Alright Gibbs. Be careful the both of you! If either of you get hurt I'll...do something violent and not very nice!"

At that both Gibbs and Tony grinned, relieved that Abby was getting some of her spunk back.

"Sure thing, Abbs. Call me when you get something."

There was an answering 'ok' before Gibbs cut the call, putting his phone back in his pocket. Meanwhile Tony turned his own on before replacing it as well. If anyone could get through the scrambler and trace their signals, it would be Abby or McGee; who would undoubtedly be getting a call right now, along with Ziva, about their present situation.

"She seemed like a nice girl."

Tony felt his eyes automatically narrow at the playful grin on Dean's face. If there was any person in the world he did not want anywhere _near_ Abby, it was Dean Winchester. They had heard about some of the shit he did to women back in St Lucia and the thought of him even _knowing_ Abby's _name_...What made it worse was with only her first name, relative location, and the fact that she was a forensic scientist; someone like Dean could probably track her down easily.

It made ice curl through Tony's veins at the thought.

Dean noticed both his expression and Gibbs', causing him to raise his hands in surrender, though not to lose the grin. "Don't worry. Sheesh, I won't touch her if that's what has you so worried. I'm not into the intellectual types."

Which...didn't actually make sense. They heard that Dean's last victim, the one who had gotten away, had been a student at Stanford. You don't get a lot more intellectual than Stanford. He could see Gibbs eyes also narrowing, making the same connections that he had.

It didn't matter though, as Dean had already turned to the hallway and was regarding it with a wary kind of irritation. Like he was far too used to situations like these and simply had to get himself through it once again. Not too much of a challenge, just a habitual annoyance.

It was a rather pitiful thought, actually.

"Ok guys. I'm fairly used to shit like this, so I'll take point and watch out for any of the usual traps. You guys stay close behind me. I've heard that this guy builds this place up like a survival course, all we gotta do is survive."

Despite both their instincts automatically being to tell Dean where he could stuff his 'I'll lead' bullshit, both Tony and Gibbs pushed those instincts aside. To tell the truth, he would rather the murderer being the first to get taken out by any traps. And Dean _did_ have more experience at this kind of thing, if his file was anything to go by. Tony gave a resolute nod and Gibbs motioned Dean forward, a vaguely sardonic expression on his face. Dean just pulled a face back and stalked forwards on feet that were far too silent to be reassuring.

xXx

_An:_

_I figured that this chapter could come out faster than the others, since this and the first one is really setting the scene and getting everything started. I hope I managed to capture everyone's interactions pretty well. Do you have any idea how hard Gibbs is to write? What seems to make him so awesome in the TV show is pretty much all his non-verbal 'Gibbs' looks and the occasional shouted order/headslap. I feel like trying to capture that is like trying to make an edible cake for the first time without instructions._

_OK, sorry. Mini-rant over._

_Hope you all liked it and thanks for the reviews._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Of Hunters and Agents**_

_**By Night Flame Miko**_

_**An**__: Enjoy, my peeps._

_And thank you to everyone who reviewed :P_

_I love you all ^-^_

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing but this plot._

xXx

2 hours later

xXx

By this point Tony was feeling the anxiety starting to get stronger with every minute. It had been hours and so far they had had to swim for 3 minutes underwater though a tunnel, swing across a spike filled pit and edge through a room filled with enough snakes to give a guy a phobia. At this stage the Indiana Jones references were long past old and getting into the repetitive. It didn't help that he would start one and Dean would finish it. Him being on the same wavelength as a psychopath was not helping his apprehension levels. So far they had only gotten one call from Abby, letting them know that the rest of the team was helping and so far they hadn't found anything overly revealing, the call ended with more promises of caution and Abby telling them they were doing great.

It didn't help that by this point Dean had had many an opportunity to kill them. The first trial, the one that involved being underwater for extended periods of time, had begun with Dean going first saying he would come back if there was an opening on the other end and if he didn't then it was a dead end. The thing was he _did_ come back, and when both he and Gibbs got out on the other end it was to Dean holding open a trapdoor which could be locked from the _outside_. All Dean would have had to do was get out first and lock the door behind him. They would never have made the swim back. But it looked like he didn't even contemplate it, he simply made a joke about holding breaths and libido; to be honest Tony was too busy trying to _catch_ his breath and get over his momentary panic attack at the sight of Dean with the trapdoor to pay attention.

He was vaguely regretting that now, he got the impression the joke was one to be remembered.

The second trial (after an extended walking period where the unease first started to truly creep in) involved the spike pit. Dean hadn't even hesitated, he simply leapt at the rope and swung across, but he didn't let go of the rope when he got to the other side and it would have been fairly simple for him to cut it with that knife they knew he had. He and Gibbs would have had to double back and hope for another route; but instead Dean had tossed the rope with enough momentum that they didn't have to jump at all, they simply caught it and then swung across one at a time.

The snake pit didn't even bare thinking about. Tony suddenly had a much better appreciation for Indiana Jones and his apparently very healthy fear of snakes.

All in all, Dean wasn't acting like the hairpin homicidal maniac that he had been made out to be. In fact, he was acting a lot like it was his _job_ to get them out not only alive but relatively intact. It was driving Tony vaguely insane, trying to catch glimpses of the murderer Dean had been portrayed as. By this point in his career, Tony was fairly good at spotting murderer's, especially when he knew who the murderer actually _was_. There was just something about them that, no matter how good an actor they were, hinted at the ruthless calculation beneath.

But whilst there were definite hints of ruthlessness within Dean, they were never directed at either Tony or Gibbs, only at the killer that had trapped them all. He supposed in some ways it made sense; if Dean was a serial killer himself then it would be pretty galling to get caught out by another one...it's just, that wasn't really the sense he was getting from Dean.

Judging by the vaguely frustrated look Gibbs was wearing and the fairly pointed questions he was asking ('How are you so prepared for all of this?' 'Why are you not worried?' 'What would you do if you were the killer?'), he was also getting annoyed by that feeling of things-not-adding-up. The questions should also have sparked some suspicion, but Gibbs was doing it in such a way that it seemed he was simply interested in Dean's lifestyle, rather than Dean himself.

Therefore when Zeppelin suddenly started blaring, both Tony and Gibbs nearly reacted with violence, they were _that_ on edge. Dean, on the other hand, only started slightly before fishing his phone out of his pocket. Considering they had all gone for a swim, Dean three times as far as them, that phone was incredibly durable.

"Sammy?"

Dean stopped walking, and taking the hint both Tony and Gibbs moved to different walls; Gibbs to lean against and Tony to slide down and sit alongside.

'_Hey Dean. You ok man_?'

"Yeah, Sammy. Though that prick had us swim underwater! My jackets' never going to be the same again." This was said mournfully as Dean gazed at the crinkled and drying material. Considering they were underground their clothing was still slightly damp, despite it being a few hours by now since their underwater adventure.

There was a muffled chuckle from the other end before the younger responded,

'_Dean, I think if that jacket was ever going to give up the ghost it would have done so long ago_.'

Dean grimaced but stopped his jacket-inspection to peer ahead of them at the hallway,

"Bad turn of phrase there Sammy. So what ya got for me?"

'_Yeah, sorry. Basically I've found out who the guy is and where he lives, I'll go scout out his house and see if there's anything that hints at where you are. The phones will probably cut off soon, so we probably won't be able to contact each other after this_.'

Tony started and Gibbs raised an eyebrow. They had been searching for this perp for _2 months_ and hadn't found hide nor hair of who he was, and this guy goes looking for a few _hours_ and finds him? What the fuck?

"Good going Sammy. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

The last was said with a smirk and Tony couldn't help grimacing. From what he had heard about the Winchesters, there wasn't much either of them wouldn't do.

'_Oh, and Dean_?'

Even they could hear the grin in Sam's voice, and it was with understandable hesitation that Dean answered,

"Yeah Sammy?"

'_Bobby says you're an 'idjit' and that if you get shot then there will be words_.'

Dean grimaced, looking vaguely put out.

"Dude, you told Bobby? What the fuck man?"

There was definite laughter this time and despite himself they could see Dean's lips twitching into a smile.

'_Sorry Dean, but I needed help putting together some of the signs. That led to your little situation and Bobby's inevitable exasperation. You should've known he would find out eventually, he knows everything_.'

"Yeah...well. I make no promises. Bitch."

'_Jerk._'

Ending the call Dean shook his head in what could only be fond exasperation before turning to face where they were watching him with vague curiosity.

"Well come along kiddies! Lets get this show on the road."

Rolling their eyes Tony stood up and Gibbs pushed himself off the wall, patting themselves down before continuing onwards.

"So. Who was that?"

Obviously Gibbs already knew who Sam Winchester was, but Dean hadn't mentioned his brother yet so this could lead to some interesting information. Also there was no information about a 'Bobby', and clearly he was fairly influential to the Winchesters. Info on either of them could be invaluable. Dean simply shrugged and continued down the hallway, continuously scanning his surroundings.

"That was my little brother Sam. I called him before waking you guys up, he's pretty good at finding people (especially me) when they disappear. He went looking for the bad guy so that he could find us. Now that he knows who it is, we'll probably be outta here pretty soon."

That sounded a lot more ominous than Tony supposed Dean intended to make it sound. A psychopath who knew how to find people? Even when they were in underground mazes that various law enforcement agencies had attempted to find since the original murders 53 years ago? Yeah...not ominous _at all_.

Gibbs, though, simply shot a curious look at Dean, seemingly not as worried about that information as he perhaps should have been.

"Why doesn't he just go to the police? Surely they could use the information to find us more effectively."

Deans automatic snort said a lot about his belief in police forces in general.

"Nah. My lil' bro can find us a lot faster than any police. They got all sorts of red tape they have to cross before they can get anything done. But my brother isn't trying to catch the guy, just trying to find us. So he'll do what needs to be done without worrying about warrants or evidence. Shit like that."

Now both Gibbs and Tony's eyebrows were raised,

"But surely that will ruin any investigation the police have been making. It could contaminate evidence and cause the perp to get off."

Dean looked back and smirked,

"Oh, he's not going to get off. Don't worry, me and my brother will get this guy before he can kill anyone else."

A chill worked its way up Tony's spine at those words, a sudden suspicion making itself known. One of the things that had always confused people about the Winchester case was the fact that the murders always seemed to start before they arrived, and finished by the time they left. Also, various witnesses always seemed to claim that the Winchesters had saved them though they would never elaborate on how.

By the looks of it, the Winchesters were actually vigilante killers, going from town to town and murdering the murderers. It didn't make what they were doing ok, in some ways vigilantes were almost worse than psychopaths because they thought that what they were doing was the right thing. Motivation is often a very powerful force, causing all sorts of mayhem when gone about the wrong way. Of course, the Winchesters were also insane, because they claimed to be fighting supernatural creatures. Then again it did give them a solid insanity plea, which they apparently had no compunctions against using.

Gibbs gave a noncommittal grunt, his expression darkening as he met Tony's eyes behind Dean's back. Clearly he had reached the same conclusion as Tony about Dean and Samuel Winchester. These two were some really messed up bastards.

They continued to travel in silence for awhile, each lost in their own thoughts. It was probably because they were so distracted that they didn't notice the slight discoloration of one of the tiles until Tony was standing directly on it. They all froze as there was a soft, almost silent '_Click_'.

Dean turned at once and his eyes immediately latched onto where Tony's foot had sunk slightly, the pressure pad dropping with his weight. Whilst Gibbs and Tony took a second to realise exactly what had just happened, Dean reacted instantly.

"Down!"

Throwing himself forward he tackled Tony to the ground, covering him with his body. Behind them Gibbs did the same, flattening himself to the ground even as holes appeared in the walls around them and the hallway was filled with 'twangs' as crossbow bolts flew out and ricocheted off the walls.

Sounds filled their area for a short while before with a final clatter the last bolt rolled to a stop a few feet away. Waiting a few seconds, Tony didn't so much as twitch as above him Dean cautiously looked around before finally sitting up with a wince. Gibbs made his way to his feet a little way up the hallway, looking around cautiously and nudging a bolt with his foot. Dean stood up slowly and Tony sat up before taking Dean's hand and letting himself be hauled upright, his heart gradually slowing down and the adrenaline fading from his system.

"Fuck. Bobby's going to be pissed."

Eyes snapping to Dean, Tony felt his eyes widen as he took in the bolt lodged in the back of Dean's left shoulder, obviously having ricocheted into him from where he had covered Tony. Tony couldn't quite believe it, other than a small wince there was no other sign that Dean was affected by having a crossbow bolt_ lodged _into his _shoulder_. He hadn't made a sound even as it happened. What was _wrong_ with this guy.

"Christ! You ok Dean?"

Even as guilt started to creep up on him, Gibbs was moving forward and holding Dean still as he felt around the wound, ignoring Dean's wince.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just going to have to get this outta me. Gibbs, you mind doing the honours?"

Gibbs eyed Dean, judging how prepared he was before nodding and gripping what he could reach of the bolt with one hand.

"On three then. 1. 2-"

With a vicious yank Gibbs wrenched the bolt out of Dean's shoulder and dropped the bloody metal to the ground.

"3."

Dean meanwhile, started swearing up a blue streak.

"Son of a Bitch! Holy fucking Shit! Ngh!"

Visibly biting back on more vitriol he aimed a glare at Gibbs, who despite the situation was smirking slightly, Tony watched as Gibbs reached out to pat Dean on his uninjured shoulder.

"You'll live."

Dean's glare magnified ten-fold as he muttered sarcastically,

"Yeah thanks for that, you sadistic old man."

Even that didn't dampen Gibbs smirk, and Tony couldn't help grinning at the two of them, having been in similar shoes to Dean in regards to Gibbs' sympathy. Seeing the lack of compassion he was receiving Dean started muttering under his breath whilst carefully taking off his jacket and removing one of his knives, he proceeded to slice off some hasty bandages to wrap around his shoulder. Both Tony and Gibbs helped with that, and for a few short minutes they forgot that the person they were helping was an alleged murderer, all Tony could think about was how there had been no hesitation when Dean had tackled him. It was rather odd having a killer fear for their safety. Though Tony _really _hoped this didn't turn into a Hannibal/Clarice moment, he paused and grimaced when he realised he had just compared himself to a girl. The grimace expanded when he realized that Dean Winchester was just the right shade of insane to consider eating him should the situation require it.

They took five minutes to rest after that, needing to relax after such a close call. Dean took the time to check his phone and inform them that he wasn't receiving a signal anymore, so for the time being they were on their own. Eventually they hauled themselves to their feet with Dean once more taking point, they began the long trek through the underground course.

xXx

An:

I love you all :)


	4. Chapter 4

_**Of Hunters and Agents**_

_**By Night Flame Miko**_

_**An**__: Hope you like it, things are starting to get a bit more interesting, I think :)_

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing but this plot._

xXx

It couldn't have been 15 minutes later that the hallway ended, only a doorway between them and whatever lay beyond it. There was no door but considering how dark it was beyond the opening, the darkness was its own barrier.

Wondering what was going to be thrown at them now, Dean edged through into the darkness, his eyes slowly adjusting to the shadowy atmosphere. He only had a brief moment to notice the dim figure in front of him before he launched into an attack, throwing a punch at the figures head. What proceeded after that was a series of punches, dodges and flurry of blows that whilst not especially wearying, was harder to perform in the dark with an injured arm. Thankfully Dean finally managed to trip the other and leant on its back, the figures arm locked behind him.

Tony had just barely registered the other form and so he could only watch with thinly disguised amazement as the fight took place, just able to see what was happening from the light in the hallway. When it looked like Dean had come out on top (literally in this case) Tony felt along the wall and lo-and-behold, there was a light switch. Praying that he wasn't about to be electrocuted or something else nasty, Tony flicked the switch; thankfully all that happened was a grimy light bulb hanging from the ceiling came on. Unfortunately, it also revealed who their attacker was.

"Dean?"

They watched as Dean blinked down at the tall guy underneath him before grinning,

"Hey Sammy. Looks like you're getting rusty kiddo."

What followed was a complicated kick and twist that put Dean on the floor and under what was apparently his younger brother. "Or maybe not. Why'a here Sammy? Not that I haven't missed your ugly mug but I'm fairly certain there was something important you were supposed to be doing."

'Sammy' grinned and standing up he offered a hand to his brother, pulling him to his feet, his expression turned mischievous. "I was looking for a beer actually."

Dean blinked, looking thrown for a second before his face split into a wide grin. "Dude! I knew I was getting déjà-vu from somewhere! But really. What happened?"

Sam shrugged, his expression fading into a grimace. "I went to the house, snooped around a bit; looking for some info on where this place is. I'm not quite sure what happened, but I think I might've been jumped. Next thing I know, I'm waking up down here. I've been wandering around for 30 minutes or so now, trying to find either you guys or the exit."

Dean snorted, looking affronted. "Thirty minutes! We've been trudging around this dump for _hours_ and you get this far in half an hour!"

Sam blinked before giving Dean what obviously translated to a 'you're an idiot' look.

"Dean, of course I wasn't put in the same place as you. He probably didn't have time to drag me all the way down there. I was in some random room not far up that hallway."

At that Dean snorted, amused.

"Typical. Of course you get the girl treatment. It's the hair man, I'm telling you." That startled a chuckle out of Tony before he wilted under Sam's glare. "Well, not much for it now. We'll just have to deal. It's good to have you here Sammy." But when Dean moved to walk through the door on the other side of the room, Sam halted him with a hand to the shoulder.

"That's not the worst of it. They took my knife, Dean."

Dean looked blank and Sam elaborated slightly, putting more emphasis in his words. "Dean, they took _Ruby's knife_. This is gonna be harder than we thought."

Dean's eyes had widened the second Sam had said 'Ruby' and now he swore quite colourfully. "Shit Sammy! I thought this was gonna be a simple salt 'n burn! Not..._this_." He waved a hand expansively, as if encompassing their situation as a whole. Tony couldn't really see what the problem with losing one knife was, but he wasn't going to bring it up now that the odds had been evened slightly with the introduction of another psychopathic and intensely delusional brother.

Gibbs, who had up to this point been standing quietly off to the side watching everything with a narrowed gaze; cleared his throat. The sound caused Dean to jump slightly, and turning to face the two of them Tony was briefly distracted by the worried look on Dean's face before the expression was replaced with his (obviously default) easygoing grin.

"Sorry. Guys meet Sammy. Sammy meet Gibbs and Tony. Gibbs is a retired marine, and Tony's just joined the Force in Baltimore. I've been telling them about our part-time bounty hunting, but I don't think they believe me."

Dean put on a fake pout at that, but Tony glanced at Gibbs who continued to watch impassively. It was obvious, considering they knew what to look for, that Dean had just casually told his brother what the cover story was.

Sam turned to them, a light smile on his face as he reached across to Tony for a handshake. "Nice to meet you, though it could've been in better circumstances."

Maybe it was the friendly smile, or the fact that there was absolutely no indication that it was going to happen; but Tony didn't hesitate in shaking Sam's hand. So he was quite surprised when suddenly the world was twisting and he found his arm trapped behind himself in a half-nelson with a knife to his throat.

Whilst for Tony and Gibbs there had been no warning; for Dean he had known exactly what was going to happen the second Sammy smiled. The smile he gave the others wasn't his usual 'lets-be-friends-though-traumatic-experiences' smile, but rather his 'I-know-you've-lied-and-am-about-to-do-something-violent-about-it' smile. His brother had always been rather expressive, in his own way.

Therefore when Tony looked up, it was to see Gibbs holding up his hands and Dean standing with a knife in his grip, looking like there was going to be bloodshed if there was any sudden moves.

"What's happening Sammy?"

This was said far too calmly for Tony's tastes, considering he was currently being held at knife point. But he supposed beggars can't be choosers.

"They lied. I looked up Leroy Gibbs and Anthony Dinozzo. Whilst Gibbs _is_ a retired marine and Dinozzo _did_ once work for Baltimore Police, they both now work as part of NCIS. Gibbs is the head of his team and Dinozzo is a Special Agent and lead investigator. The only reason they would lie is because-"

Tony winced with each bit of information. He was almost worried to look at Dean, fearing where this was going to go. But when he did look, rather than appearing angry; Dean simply looked resigned.

"-because they recognised me. Which means they must have woken up before me and worked out a back story so as not to anger the 'raging psychopath'. Crap. Though that does explain all the meaningful looks and questions they've been asking. I was seriously starting to get twitchy."

Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking annoyed and vaguely disappointed.

"Please tell me they're at least mildly evil douche bags and we can leave them to make their own way out of this hell hole."

There was a sigh from above him and when Sam spoke he sounded just as resigned as Dean. Which wasn't really doing anything for Tony's anxiety levels, to be honest. "Sorry Dean. Their records say they're one of the best teams that NCIS has. Not only that but by the sounds of it, they're genuinely good people that regularly save lives."

Now Dean looked put out with the world at large. "Of course they are! The one time we would appreciate being locked up with dick-wads who want us dead, they have to be good people amazing at their jobs _and _saving people!" He then looked to the ceiling and pointed at it with dramatic anger, "You hate me, don't you! You are _such_ a dick sometimes, you know that?"

Sam muffled a laugh above him, but despite seeming to be distracted the hand behind him and the knife in front didn't loosen or move an inch. These people were fricken _scary_.

"Can you move a bit further away Dean? If you get smote I don't want to be in striking distance."

Dean grumbled to himself before visibly refocusing his attention on their hostages.

"So what do we do with them? We can't leave them by themselves; they'll probably end up dead. Especially if it _is_ a demon that's doing all of this."

Sam must've given him a look because Dean shrugged, looking unconcerned.

"What? If they know who we are then they obviously know about our 'delusions'. Why should we pretend when they already know...Shit."

Dean ran a hand through his hair once again, his face creased into a grimace as he obviously realised something. Tony felt his throat tighten even as the hand around his arm pushed a little harder, moving him from the realm of 'discomfort' and into 'pain'.

"What is it?"

Dean sighed and glanced above Tony at his brother, looking mildly sheepish. "They knew who I was, and they called someone. Obviously she's part of their team. Her name was Abby and they said she was a forensic scientist, they told her I was with them...so when we get out of here we're probably gonna be-"

"Arrested."

Tony winced at the deadpan way Sam stated that, but when he glanced up Sam didn't seem angry, more exasperated. "Damnit Dean. Why couldn't you have given them a fake name? That way they couldn't have gotten word out without you knowing that they know."

Dean grimaced but still remained sheepish, which considering the fact that they knew they had been betrayed and were most likely going to be arrested as soon as they got out of here, was an interesting thing to be feeling. Tony had been expecting something more along the lines of Kill Bill; homicidal anger and mass amounts of bloodletting.

"Well. What can you do? I haven't been on their List for almost two years now, Sammy. I never expected someone to recognise me. Most people question themselves when they meet a supposed dead man. Crap. After this we're gonna be on the run again."

Sam sighed from above him, seeming just as put out by the notion. Clearly both of them didn't even consider the idea that once they were put in jail, they would _stay_ there.

"We can't treat them like hostages, Sammy. In a survival course you need to be able to _move_, and you need to be able to do it quickly."

"I know Dean. I just didn't want them doing anything rash whilst we had this conversation. So we're going to lead them out, get arrested and then play it by ear from there."

Dean grinned, looking amused by the whole idea.

"Don't forget the demon Sammy. We've gotta gank it before we can skip town. Maybe we should just hang out down here; supposedly the guy comes and kills the people who can't make it out in time."

Sam was quiet for a few long moments before another sigh left him, "As much as that seems to be the best course of action I don't think we should Dean. Getting two civ's involved, no matter how trained, in a confrontation with a demon? Especially with how unprepared we are...it's just not worth it."

Dean grimaced, his grin gone as if it had never been.

"Then I suppose we're doing this the hard way, eh?"

He then turned his attention to Tony and Gibbs, Tony knew his frown matched the one his boss was wearing. They didn't really appreciate being in compromising positions with killers, and whilst it didn't _sound_ like everything was heading towards their imminent deaths, you never really knew. An unfortunate habit of the insane was their tendency to snap at the smallest provocation.

"So NCIS Agents huh? Whats' that even stand for? Nearly Competent Investigational Services?"

Gibbs eyes hardened into what Tony affectionately termed the 'you are about to end up very dead, be warned' expression. Tony, meanwhile, snorted slightly and shook his head, "Not quite. Try Naval Criminal Investigative Services."

Dean smirked before shrugging vaguely, looking like he was forcefully getting himself back on topic. Sam had probably given him another look.

"Look, we are going to let you guys go. We don't particularly care what you do, but if you want our help then I would suggest no murder/incapacitation attempts. Our only goal is to get outta here alive, we'll even come quietly at the end of everything if you guys don't do anything stupid."

Gibbs expression had moved onto disbelieving, though he still kept a wary eye both on the knife pointed in his direction and the other resting lightly on Tony's throat.

"Really. And why should we believe you? There is a reason you two were on the FBI's Top Ten, after all."

Dean spent a few long seconds simply looking at Gibbs before grinning his usual (completely fake) grin and, flipping his knife once he slipped it back up his sleeve. The body holding him immobile and the knife at Tony's throat did a similar disappearing act, causing him to stand immediately and go to Gibb's side. He rubbed his sore arm, trying to get the circulation going whilst staring at the two murderer's trading looks across from them.

"Like we said, we don't care as long as we all get out of here with our skins intact. So you going to go Punisher on us or what?"

Gibb's expression didn't change though he undoubtedly didn't get the reference; the gist of what the Winchesters were saying was still more than obvious, though Tony found it interesting that the Winchesters thought that _they_ were going to go vigilante on _them_. Tony tilted his head slightly, watching them before glancing at Gibbs. His boss didn't so much as twitch, but Tony knew where this was going without having to be told and forced himself to relax, giving the others an easygoing smile.

"Looks like we're with you guys, though the murder and mutilation thing goes both ways."

Dean snorted at that, his grin loosing its edge.

"Don't worry pretty boy, I won't let a hair get harmed on your pretty lil' head."

Tony blinked, thrown for a second, before snark automatically reasserted itself,

"You're one to talk, though I'm starting to think you're just using 'life threatening situations' as an excuse to throw yourself at me."

Now Dean looked insulted and Sam appeared far more amused than he had any right to be, "Dude! I was tackling you cause you were stupid enough to stand on a pressure pad! That's just...Ew. I'm into girls man. Really _really _into girls."

Tony shrugged, turning his attention to the room they were in now that he had conclusively established that they were not about to have a fight to the death. "Says the guy who was on top of me less than half an hour ago."

"Yeah well...at least we know who would top."

At that Tony blanched, realising what he had said only too late. Unfortunately, before he could retaliate, there was a low chuckle and they turned to look at Sam who was shaking his head in what appeared to be amused disbelief,

"It's like watching a mating dance between the emotionally constipated."

Dean's grimace grew more pronounced and Tony knew his face was screwed up, disgust and (horrified) amusement fighting for territory. Gibbs was watching it all with a raised eyebrow, clearly wondering if knocking them all out would make life less complicated.

"Shut up Bitch. Lets just...get the hell out of here."

Dean turned to the door opposite, glancing cautiously round the room. Tony found himself doing the same. This room seemed perfect for some kind of trap and yet nothing had happened in all the time they had been there. Sam must've noticed their looks, because he walked across the floor and motioned to it with his hand,

"Don't worry Jerk, I got it before you came."

Only now did they notice the wires lying along the walls. Tony couldn't really make out their purpose without seeing them in action, but he found that he didn't really care to know in any case. After their long intermission he found that he was suddenly jittery to get on the move again. Considering the circumstances he supposed it was understandable.

xXx

_An: Yay. Finally the introduction of Sammy. I'm sorry to all who thought it a bit convenient, but honestly, can you have a cross-over where the Agents don't meet _both_ the Winchesters? It would just be wrong. Though I will give an explanation for it...eventually. :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Of Hunters and Agents**_

_**By Night Flame Miko**_

_**An**__: Here's some more, enjoy._

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing but this plot._

xXx

They'd barely been walking for another fifteen minutes, with the Winchesters automatically taking the lead, before the brothers started talking.

"So...what happened?"

Sam's question after the fairly tense silence seemed rather random but Dean didn't seem surprised, just wary.

"What?"

"To your shoulder." Sam elaborated. "Don't think I didn't notice you protecting it in our little tumble earlier."

Tony couldn't see Dean's face, but he could practically hear the grimace in the older Winchester's voice.

"I may have...accidently got hit by a crossbow bolt when Tony 'Don't-Know-So' back there managed to land himself on a pressure pad."

There was a short silence before Sam snorted, his shoulders shaking slightly with the movement.

"You mean you got _shot_? Dude, Bobby's gonna kill you!"

"Shut up! It wasn't my fault, damnit."

"Yeah, well... Bobby's still gonna rip you a new one." The smirk was audible and Tony shared a look with Gibbs. This was the second time this 'Bobby' had been mentioned. Yet the psychological profile made on the Winchesters stated that they were psychotically co-dependent on each other and would be incapable of forming relationships beyond their family. Yet there was obvious affection when the two mentioned this other person. It was a vaguely interesting detail and made everything infinitely more worrying.

"I know. I know...How is he?"

The question was rough, but the worry was clear; both Tony and Gibbs didn't miss how Sam bumped shoulders with Dean, having situated himself on the uninjured side when they moved off earlier.

"He's fine, Dean. Crowley is back though, if that's what you mean."

Tony watched as Dean's shoulders stiffened and his voice was laced with anger when he responded, a side effect of which was Tony's heightened stress levels.

"What does that bastard want _now_? He gave back Bobby's soul, we haven't killed him; I thought the prick's self-preservation was better than to purposefully put himself in a room with three hunters."

Sam sighed, though his shoulders were just as stiff as his brothers.

"I don't know Dean. But I get the impression that he...likes Bobby."

Dean shot his brother a withering glare that both Tony and Gibbs could clearly see from where they followed behind the two.

"What do you mean _likes_ him? Sam, Crowley's a _demon_. They don't _like_ people unless it involves lots of blood and screaming."

"I _know_ Dean. You think I don't know that? But Crowley's always been different. I mean, he helped us with our not-so-little problem, didn't he? And he fixed Bobby for no apparent reason. I _get_ that demons don't do things without a motive, it's just...what if his motive _was_ Bobby."

Dean was silent for a while and Tony couldn't help sending a raised eyebrow at Gibbs. That conversation was both illuminating and highly disturbing. Clearly these two were Class A nut jobs, but it also revealed that they _truly _believed in the supernatural; something Tony had had a little trouble accepting up until this point. Yet despite the direction his thoughts had taken, Tony noticed that Gibbs was regarding the two with that inscrutable expression he got when things weren't adding up; when his mind and his gut were telling him different things. It was vaguely worrying and raised Tony's curiosity, though his thoughts were interrupted as Dean finally spoke,

"I don't _care_ if he's helped us before, I don't like him near Bobby. I think we need to reinforce our opinion on the matter. Crowley can shove it, even if (especially if) he _does_ like Bobby."

At that Sam snorted, though whether because of agreement or amusement Tony couldn't tell.

"Well you might have a bit of problem with that Dean. I get the impression that Bobby is starting to like Crowley back. It's hard not to be grateful to the guy, demon, _whatever_...that gave you your legs back. And we both know how Bobby gets when we mess with his stuff."

Dean actually froze at that, allowing Tony to see the horrified expression on his face.

"Dude, that's disgusting! Eww! Man, I'm never going to be able to look at them without gagging again. Christ."

It was obvious Sam was amused by Dean's overreaction. Tony was tempted to put in his own quip there, it was almost too easy an opening not to, but listening to the two brothers conversation was far too interesting to potentially break the flow by reminding them that they had an audience. Though Tony imagined they hadn't forgotten for a second who was following behind them, they just honestly didn't care what Tony and Gibbs overheard. In their minds they undoubtedly believed they had more important things to be worrying about then the opinions of cops. Especially since said cops wouldn't understand half of what they were talking about.

"By the way Dean, you owe me forty bucks."

This was said in a rather off-hand manner, but Dean shot his brother a sideways look that said he was not fooled.

"What for? You got _kidnapped_. I totally won that bet, it's _you_ who owes _me_ forty bucks."

At that Sam actually wagged a finger at Dean, prompting another disgusted look;

"Nuh-uh. You said that I had to _find_ the killer and you in 3 hours. Guess where and who knocked me out, and look; Tada, I've found you! All in 2 hours and 45 minutes."

"Getting knocked out by the killer doesn't count as finding him!"

"Ah, but I had to _find_ him to get knocked out _by_ him. Give it up and hand over the forty Dean. You're not winning this one."

At that Dean started grumbling but did actually take out his wallet, rifling through it and pulling out two twenties, handing it over to his brother with a mournful look.

"That could have been used for something useful; like my baby. Now you're going to waste it on...books! Or something else stupid and girly."

Sam hardly twitched at the insult to his masculinity, instead he pocketed the money and patted Dean's shoulder in a condescendingly consoling manner.

"Shouldn't have made the bet then Dean. Don't worry, it'll go to a good cause, like research. Because one of us has to do it, and you're definitely not it."

"Yeah, well...Bitch."

"Jerk."

Tony was starting to notice a pattern to those insults. It was then he realised he had spent more time around two psychopaths then he had ever expected (or wanted) to in his whole life.

xXx

Forty-five minutes and one wall-crushing trap later, the group had been walking in relative silence for the majority of it.

Tony was contemplating food, he hadn't had anything to eat in almost 12 hours and he was really starting to feel it by this point. Looking to distract himself Tony glanced at his boss only to see Gibbs frowning at the duo in front of them. Tony could understand that expression; the two were walking equally silently and in-step with one another; just another one of their freaky, 'we were trained since before you could talk' things. The brothers also hadn't said anything in a while, but when the walls had started closing on all of them earlier; both had reacted instantly and had pushed both Tony and Gibbs in front of them; telling them to run. Sam had only just managed to get though the door at the other end of the room before it crushed him.

All in all, the Winchester's weren't acting very psychopathic and it was driving Tony insane. Hell, they weren't even acting like the vigilantes he had believed they were. Zealots of their level had no qualms with 'sacrificing' innocents for their 'cause'; usually vigilantes thought that they were the only ones who could fight their cause effectively. If that was true in the brothers case, then Sam and Dean shouldn't be so willing to place themselves in harm's way to save him and Gibbs.

Yet that was what they kept doing.

_Over_ and _over_ again.

Driving him _insane_.

Tony was distracted from his increasingly frustrated musings when someone started humming some very familiar tunes. Dean had barely even started before Tony could see Sam turn a glare on his brother.

"Dean. _No_. Its bad enough I have to listen to Metallica for _8 hours_ every time we're driving. I _refuse_ to have to listen to it whilst not in the car."

"But Sammy, I'm _booored_. I thought this would be more fun, but it's mostly just walking, walking, _walking_. The traps are hardly even that bad."

There was a sigh and Tony traded a raised eyebrow with his boss. Personally, Tony had found the traps pretty fricken' scary. What kind of shit did the Winchester's get into when spike filled pits, snakes and _wall-crushing_ was deemed 'hardly that bad'.

"Actually, our guys pretty smart. From what you've told me about the previous traps, he's playing on fears that statistically most of humanity share. You've had water, maiming and/or possible death, wild animals and claustrophobia. Those wires I dismantled were linked to electricity, another primary fear. Most people would have broken down by now. We've just encountered all this crap more than once, so we would find all of it rather unimaginative."

Tony stared at the taller Winchester, taken aback. He hadn't really thought about it, but that is exactly what their kidnapper had done. The guy could have pulled a Saw, forcing them to inflict pain on themselves or others in order to escape. But instead everything was based around fears and survival.

Wait...

...The Winchester's had faced this stuff before, _more than once_?

Whilst Tony and, judging by Gibbs' look, his boss were both slightly impressed with these deductions and their implications; Dean just snorted.

"Nice detective skills Samantha. That doesn't change the fact that I'm _bored_. Entertain me."

Sam's next look was incredulous.

"Dean. Grow up."

There was an extended moment of silence before the humming started up again. Tony couldn't help smirking even as Sam swore under his breath.

This continued for a few minutes, though it was obvious that Sam was planning some retaliatory move if his increasingly scary expression was anything to go by. Finally he seemed to snap, something that both Tony and Dean watched with some relish.

"Have you tried calling Cas?"

Tony was mildly gratified that he wasn't the only one taken aback by this question, if Dean's confused blink was anything to go by. Both he and Dean had been expecting something a lot more violent/sadistic as retaliation.

"Nooo...why would I call Cas?"

Dean was quite hesitant in answering, and judging by Sam's rolled eyes and amused snort it was obvious he had noticed too.

"Oh, I don't know? So he could AngelAir us out of here? Maybe?"

Dean was silent for a long moment. Both Tony and Gibbs were wondering if the name of this person's mode of transportation was a nickname or just further signs of the brothers' delusions.

It was obvious that Sam was amused by his brothers lack of forethought and, judging by Dean's expression, bringing up his failing was actually fairly good revenge for the humming.

"I couldn't call him alright? They had woken up by then, and I didn't know that they were aware of my 'delusions'. So I figured yelling at the ceiling might be some cause for alarm. Though what's your excuse Samantha? You've been down here quite a while, you've had more than enough time to give him a shout."

Sam though, apparently already had an answer to that,

"Actually, I did call. Before I met up with you. He hasn't responded yet. That could be because there's Enochian sigils on the walls, which if this _is_ a demon that knows who we are, wouldn't be too unlikely. Or the fact that he just likes you better, which we both know is true."

At that Dean snorted, seemingly amused whilst from what Tony could see of Sams' face, he was pouting. "Shut up Dean. Are angels even _allowed_ to have favourites?"

Tony's brain shut down for a second as he finally realised what 'creature' they thought could help them. Admittedly he never saw angels coming, though he supposed that if you had to yell at the ceiling to get this 'Cas'' attention, he shouldn't have been so surprised. He missed what Dean's retort was, but before his thoughts could spiral too far, Dean started yelling at the ceiling.

"Cas! Castiel! Get your angelic ass down here; we need some back-up!"

They had all stopped once Dean started yelling, and for a few seconds Tony actually held his breath. He didn't know why. He _knew_ that the brothers were insane. There was just _something_ about their matter-of-fact belief in what they said that made others _want _to believe.

"Looks like your angel isn't showing up. Could we get a move on, we don't have a helluva lot'a time left."

They all jumped as Gibbs spoke up for the first time in nearly an hour. Of course Tony (and the rest of the team) were normally used to Gibbs silences; he never really spoke unless he had something to say. This past month had been one of the worst, what with so few leads and no crime scene; only dump-sites and evidence free bodies. Gibbs hadn't really said anything beyond the occasional gruff order or shouted instructions for the past few weeks.

"Yeah, yeah old man. We're going."

As they started moving again he caught Sam and Dean sharing a worried look. He could only imagine it was because their 'angel' hadn't shown up. Clearly they put a lot more stock in his arriving then he and Gibbs had realised.

xXx

_tbc_

_An: So some of you have been asking when this was set and if Cas was going to show up, hopefully this chapter answers these questions. I am sorry about Cas though, I would have loved to introduce him but honestly, if he could just zap himself there it would pretty much defeat the whole purpose of this setup. Though there is going to be some mild twists ahead that you guys might enjoy :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Of Hunters and Agents**_

_**By Night Flame Miko**_

_**An**__: I'm so sorry this took so long. I have been on holiday in Egypt and then had three assignments due for University within a month. It was immense and stressful and I'm surprised I still have hair. This chapter had actually already been written, but when I came back to it I read it through and wondered if I wrote this whilst drunk. It wasn't so much that it was crap, but more that it could be _so much better_. So I essentially rewrote it, and this is the result. I also made it 2,000 words longer, for leaving you guys to wait so long._

_The next one should be up in a week._

_Hope you enjoy, my peeps._

_And thank you to everyone who reviewed :P_

_I love you all ^-^_

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing but this plot._

xXx

Tony could see that Dean was really starting to get anxious, and to be honest, he wasn't the only one; judging by Gibbs' now-permanent frown and Sams paranoid glances. They could all feel everything coming to a head and it was putting everyone more on edge then before. Tony could feel his own muscles tightening up, preparing for that natural fight-or-flight response as the tension built inexorably with the time passing.

There was a sharp curse and Tony's gaze cut to Dean when the other angrily thrust his fist into a wall, visibly wincing at the action.

"God damnit Sammy! We only have 45 minutes left! 45 minutes! We should have been outta here hours ago!"

Sam looked just as aggravated as his brother, even as Tony watched the much taller Winchester ran a hand through his shaggy hair, looking like he would much rather be wrenching it with frustration.

"I know Dean."

"I mean, not to be arrogant or anything, but with our training we would have made much better time than any other civilian!"

"I know Dean."

"It doesn't make _sense_, damnit!"

"I _know_ Dean!"

At that Dean seemed to snap out of his diatribe and shot an apologetic look at his younger brother. Though, honestly, Tony completely agreed. He didn't much like lauding the talents of killers, but the Winchester brothers had been leading them through this course like a breeze. Just as swift and almost unstoppable.

Considering this course had been set up to challenge people with, at best, half their skill; it was a bit dubious that even _now_ they were all still trapped. Also, the _size _of this place. If Tony hadn't walked it himself, he would never have believed that one killer could have had the time, money and resources to build it himself within his own lifetime. It just didn't seem _possible_.

And yet here it was, and here he was. So clearly Tony had underestimated the abilities of a human when they put their whole being towards a goal. As horrific as this one was.

Tony made a sound of frustration as they all rounded yet another corner, but whilst the hallway continued straight on, as always, this time there was a doorway halfway down. Blinking at the sight, Tony stepped up the pace, moving right behind the brothers who were also moving noticeably faster. As they all came to the door, Dean paused a moment, listening for movement beyond the opening before stepping inside.

Waiting a few seconds for something to happen, when nothing did; Sam, Gibbs and Tony all moved in just as cautiously, wondering if they were about to be hit by another trap or whether they had finally found the way outside.

Clearly though, they worried for nothing, because the room was completely empty save for one metal ring in the far wall. About to start unleashing a diatribe of his own, Tony paused as he saw Sams' eyes widen then narrow; locked on the ring in the wall. Dean must've noticed too, because suddenly he was beside his brother, looking ready to stab the first thing that moved in an even vaguely threatening manner.

"Sammy? What's up?"

Sam blinked before focussing on his brother whilst Tony and Gibbs looked on.

"Dean, we've been walking in circles."

Tony felt his eyes widen, mildly gratified that Dean did the same before his face twisted into a scowl, though Gibbs almost looked like he had been expecting the news.

"_What_?"

"We've been walking in circles! I don't know how, but this is the room I woke up in. Look! Over there are my cuffs."

Looking where he was pointing, Tony only now noticed the dull sheen of the handcuffs lying in a corner, almost hidden by shadow.

"God damnit! Why didn't we see this coming!"

Dean spun around, regarding his surroundings and clearly contemplating kicking a wall. This was prevented as Sam stepped foward, his brow furrowed as he regarded the room once more.

"Dean. We can't afford to keep walking. We only have 40 minutes left."

Said Winchester sighed, raking a hand through his hair and just looking generally put out with the situation. He shared a look with his younger brother, a silent conversation clearly taking place before finally Dean conceded with a nod and scanning the room, he walked to one of the walls and began knocking on it.

Feeling vaguely put out at not knowing what the hell the two were doing, Tony glanced at Gibbs before making his thoughts known.

"What are you guys doing?"

Dean barely spared him a glance, continuing his circuit of the rooms' walls whilst he answered.

"We're setting up shop. There's no way we can get outta here in time if we're being led round in circles. This room and the one we started in are the best for a stand-off, as there's no way he can sneak up on us in here." At that Dean finished tapping the walls and, clearly satisfied, started pulling knives out of the fricken _air_. Seriously, the guy had like 4 knives on him, two of which he gave to Tony.

Glancing at Gibbs, he saw as his boss received two fairly similar knives from Sam. Gibbs glanced over the blades before giving a short nod to Sam and then addressing both Winchesters.

"Good plan. Is he working alone?"

Sam, who for some reason was standing just before the open door and regarding the ceiling, answered this one. "Yeah, he is. But we shouldn't underestimate him. He may be alone, but he's a demon so four guys on one wouldn't normally be that big a problem for him." Not seeing their looks, Sam continued, his voice getting a bit more subdued as he contemplated something. "Though you have us, so we can probably come up..with...a...plan. Dean."

About to make say something about there being a better time for delusions later, Tony was distracted when Dean snapped around to look at his brother, something in the others tone clearly cluing him into the fact that Sam was contemplating something stupid. Tony couldn't see it, but Dean took one look at his brother, glanced at the ceiling, and shook his head sharply.

"No, Sam."

Sam grimaced and spread his arms, clearly asking for another option, not that Tony got what the first option actually _was_.

"C'mon Dean. I know it's not the best option, but we have to do _something_, and we don't have any other materials to do it with."

At that Dean took a step forward, slashing his arm to the side, his expression stormy.

"No Sammy. If we have to, I'll do it. I've already been shot anyway."

At that, Tony had to cut in, both him and Gibbs clearly wondering what the hell the two were talking about. It's like they were listening in on half a conversation and only getting enough bits to seriously alarm them.

"Um, have to do _what_? What're you two talking about?"

He was promptly ignored as Sam took a step towards his brother, his expression shifting to one so pleading that Tony felt his heart twinge, the automatic urge to help rising up immediately. It was actually pretty terrifying.

"That's exactly why you _can't_ Dean. You're already hurt; you can't afford this as well! Also, I'm larger, I won't be as affected."

Dean froze for a second, his expression becoming conflicted until Sam took another step towards him and shrugged half-heartedly, as if to say there really was no other choice. Staring for a few long seconds Dean finally sighed, dragging a hand through his hair, his shoulders slumping.

"Damnit Sammy. You're killing me here."

"Sorry Dean. It's the best option."

At that Sam finally stepped back from his brother before turning and walking to the doorway, they all watched as he reached up, his fingers just able to drag along the ceiling.

"What the hell are you two going on about?"

Gibbs' voice was sharp, cracking like a whip in that distinct way of his. It said something about their lives that both Winchesters snapped to attention automatically before seemingly remembering themselves. Sam went back to what he was doing whilst Dean seemed to be contemplating how to answer, his posture slightly more stiff than before.

"The best way to stop a demon is to catch it. You can only do that with a devils trap. Normally we'd use paint, or if seriously out of options, chalk. But we don't normally carry that stuff on us, so Sammy's going for the very last option. One we haven't actually done before."

At that Dean seemed to hesitate but at Gibbs look he continued, apparently worried what they would think about this next piece of insanity. Go figure.

"He's going to use blood."

"What!"

Tony couldn't help himself. It was an automatic reaction, especially when he looked over at Sam just in time to see the other slice a knife across his left hand before cupping it, letting blood pool in the curve.

"This is insane! We're just about to tangle with our guy and you go and purposefully injure yourself beforehand? All to draw some stupid picture on the roof, _in your own blood_? As if we aren't handicapped enough already!"

At that Dean took a step forward, his expression hardening as Sam started using his free hand to begin drawing what looked to be a fairly large circle.

"Look, I get that you think we're insane. But you know what they say, if you don't cater to the crazy peoples delusions, things could get violent." Dean's eyes flashed and Tony felt himself take an automatic step backward, falling into a defensive stance. "In more ways than one." This last was said softly, and Tony stared at the other until Gibbs waved a hand between them.

"Woah. Cool down. It's a bit late to be arguing about this, considering it's _already happening_. We need a plan, not in-fighting." This was stated dryly, and Tony automatically felt a sheepish expression cross his face, remarkably similar to the one Dean was wearing; though both vanished pretty quickly.

Over the next 15 minutes they outlined a plan, although there was some argument from Dean at one point, they all eventually agreed on what was going to be done. It's not like they had many options by that point, considering their situation there was very little they could actually do. The biggest sticking point was what Sam and Dean wanted to do, as both believed they were fighting a 'demon' and as such wanted to plan around their opponent being one. Eventually they all agreed on a strategy that would be effective either way.

xXx

Tony couldn't be sure how long they waited. He knew, intellectually, that it was at least 15 minutes, but the seconds seemed to tick by at a snails pace. Consequently all of their nerves were on edge. Tony focussed on the doorway, his anxiety rising as across from him Dean started sharpening one knife with another. Gibbs, on the other hand, was simply watching everything with narrowed eyes. He was directly opposite the door, leaning against the wall and from what Tony could see, his bosses eyes were looking intently at the bloody 'devils trap' drawn on the ceiling. Tony could see that Gibbs was just as disturbed by it as he was, even if his boss was covering it better. What kind of nut-jobs were these two that they were willing to cut themselves up and submit to blood loss, simply to draw pretty patterns on the roof? Surely they didn't honestly believe that doodles drawn in blood would do anything but weaken them in the upcoming fight?

This line of thought was cut short as the vague sound of footsteps came from beyond the open doorway. Stiffening at the sound, Tony got into a defensive position as Dean and Gibbs did the same. Hopefully Sam would be able to get a drop on the perp, though honestly, having four highly trained men against one guy seemed a bit like overkill.

They all waited as the sounds got closer, Tony's muscles drawn so tight that he would have snapped had a pin dropped in the silence. Thankfully there were no sudden sounds, just the increasingly nearing ones from outside. He knew that logically, he shouldn't have much to fear considering it was 4 against one, but still. This guy had to be pretty damn good to do this continuously and still somehow come out on top.

When the person finally stepped into sight, Tony could honestly say it wasn't who he was expecting. Donald Rugen; he had been eliminated off the suspect list from pretty much the beginning, simply because he didn't fit the physical requirements that such a killer would need. It was well known that in both the original and copycat killings, the murderer subdued his victims and strangled them to death. Considering the victims were picked for their physical fitness and defensive abilities, there was just no way that short and chubby Donald Rugen could be the killer; never mind that he was the 50 year old son of the original killer Steven Rugen, who had died 10 or so years ago.

Tony was still staring in vague shock when Donald's eyes flicked up towards the ceiling and he let out a low chuckle, his lips twisting into a smirk that looked out of place on his face.

"Devil's trap boys? Cute. Reeaal cute. But you know what they say, fool me once..."

Tony had no idea what Donald was going on about, or why he even recognised the bloody drawings in the first place, but he could see as across from him Deans' eyes widened before narrowing in what could only be recognition.

"_Meg_."

The name was spat out, as if the act of speaking it had left a foul taste in Dean's mouth. Tony honestly didn't know what to say, because that was undeniably a girls name and Donald Rugen was most definitely _not_ a girl. And yet, there was no reaction from Donald, just another twisted chuckle, as if everything about this situation was an amusing game of cat and mouse, something to be dragged out and enjoyed.

"You always were a quick one Deany-boy."

Donald's eyes scanned across the room, the guy still making no attempt to enter, something Tony found a bit curious; though maybe the sicko was enjoying this too much and wanted to drag it out some more.

"Though where's Sammy, Dean? You two are never far from each other."

Tony only had a second to wonder how this guy apparently knew so much about the Winchesters, before Sam literally ninja'd behind Donald, having hidden further down the corridor. There was no warning as Sam appeared and launched a brutal kick square in the middle of Donald's back, something that should have sent him sprawling across the room but instead only made him stumble a few steps forward. Tony almost attacked as well, expecting that to be the start of the fight, but instead he was brought up short by Dean's laughter.

"Shame on you, wasn't it Meg?"

Through the doorway they could see Sams' eyes widen as his eyes focussed on the guy he'd attacked, though he made no move to follow through on his brief upper hand.

In Donald's case, all he did was stand up before snarling at Sam and Dean, glaring futilely at the marks on the ceiling. To be honest, Tony was just wondering what the hell was going on. This wasn't anything like he expected this showdown to go. In fact, he got the distinct feeling he was missing something. Glancing at his boss, Gibbs caught his eye and gave a slight shake of his head, indicating that they simply watch for the moment. Clearly there was something going on here, and maybe by watching and staying out of it (for now), they could figure out what.

It only took a few seconds for Donald's expression to smooth over, his body straightening as he regarded those in the room. Behind him Sams expression had hardened, becoming something that was actually scarier than the serial killer who had trapped them in the maze in the first place.

"Well. What now Deano? You gonna excorcise me? Because I've got a little something to stop that happening."

Tony's mind blanked for a second as Donald pulled back a sleeve, showing a mark that looked like it had been _branded_ into his arm. What the hell was going on? Was this guy suffering the same delusions as the Winchesters? What were the chances of that?

"In fact, I can still do this-"

They watched as Donald raised an arm, Tony not being the only person to automatically tense, but there was nothing in his hand and even as they watched all he did was snap his fingers. For a second nothing happened, then there was an ominous rumbling and Tony watched incredulously as a crack formed in the ceiling, moving directly for the bloodied marks above Donald's head.

It barely took a second for the crack to reach the outermost circle and Tony could only watch along with everyone else as there was a sound like metal striking metal and the crack suddenly stopped, despite the rumbling still shaking the room. Eventually the noise ceased and Tony turned wide eyes on Donald, absently wondering if he had a sound activated weapon of some kind built into the walls, which was a bit worrying as who knew if it would bring the place down on their heads.

Donald himself didn't look too pleased with this turn of events, turning accusing eyes on Dean who simply smirked and shrugged, looking inordinately amused with this turn of events.

"Didn't you know Meg? Devils Traps are actually supposed to be drawn in blood, it makes them pretty much unbreakable. Of course hunters just don't have a lot of fresh blood to spare, so we normally go the easy way. This time though, well, you didn't leave us with many options. Lucky for us, huh?"

Donald simply sneered at Dean before placing his hands on his hips and flicking his head in a way that was decidedly feminine. Tony could only blink, feeling bizarrely thrown at the very feminine pose the serial killer was striking. He had no idea what was going on, in fact it felt a bit like a rug had been pulled unexpectedly from under Tony's feet. He didn't like this feeling at all. Looking across at Gibbs Tony was a bit surprised to see his boss leaning casually against the wall behind him, watching everything that was occurring with narrowed eyes. He had the look he usually got when pieces of a puzzle were slowly falling together, when his mind and his gut were now reaching the same conclusions and he didn't like what those answers were.

Tony just wished he'd fill him in.

"So what now? We're at a bit of stalemate, eh Deany-boy. You can't exorcise me and I can't rend you piece from piece."

Donald's voice was surprisingly light considering the threat. Dean didn't so much as twitch, his smirk merely growing, something that clearly put Donald on edge.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm quite fond of the idea of killing you, Meg. What about you Sammy? That sound like an option?"

Tony started, only just seeing Gibbs straighten out of the corner of his eye as he stared at Dean, surprised by the bloodthirsty smile on his face. He had obviously spent far too much time with the Winchesters considering he was surprised by this turn of events.

"Oh yeah. That sounds just _perfect_, Dean."

Despite their words, they made no move to attack Donald, and whilst this vaguely reassured the two NCIS agents, it didn't seem to have nearly the same calming effect on Donald.

"How are you planning on doing that? You don't have the Colt and _I_ have the Knife."

At this Donald pulled out a dagger, Tony could just make out engravings edged into the blade even as he returned to the defensive stance he had before and took another step backwards, putting his back to the wall. Dean seemed mildly surprised by the introduction of the knife, as if he hadn't expected Donald to bring any weapons; which actually surprised Tony as he knew the Winchesters were aware that some of the victims were killed by stabbing rather than strangulation. Yet Deans surprise didn't last long before he was shrugging and looking vaguely bored, a feat Tony was slightly jealous of.

"Nah Meg. The knifes old school. No, I think Sammy's way is a lot more effective. Why don't you give her a demonstration Sammy."

Tony automatically took a step forward when the younger Winchester raised a hand, before remembering that there was a serial killer between him and Sam, who was in the hall way. It didn't seem to matter in any case, as Sam didn't have a weapon in his hand. Instead he held an open palm out towards Donald, before slowly clenching his hand.

That was when the truly weird shit began to happen.

Tony reared back as suddenly Donald's eyes flashed pure black and he arched backwards, letting out a scream that almost seemed to have an echo, a light starting to flash inside his body like there was lightning inside him.

"Holy shit."

It was literally all he could manage, and when Tony's eyes snapped to Gibbs he could see the other was just as surprised by this as he was. There was literally _no_ explanation for this. He couldn't see what had caused this, though it was obvious that it was in conjuction with Sam clenching his hand, there should be no reason that something was happening to Donald. Even as he watched the lighting started to move faster, Donald looking like he'd snap he was arched so far back, the scream increasing as something (smoke?) started to leak out of his mouth.

It was obvious that whatever this was, was going to be over soon; when the scream suddenly cut off and Donald's head snapped forward, his eyes glaring into Sams as he obviously used one last effort to speak.

"He'll die!"

Surprisingly that actually worked as Sam stopped clenching his hand, even releasing...whatever he was doing. It was enough for Donald to fall to his knees, panting, with the occasional fading flicker of light inside him.

"_What_?"

Sam's voice was harsh, his hand still extended though shaking from effort. Donald raised his head to stare at Sam, a gruesome smile on his face as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

"He'll die, Sammy-boy. I've been riding this guy for months now, if you kill me his body will collapse without immediate help. And you still don't know your way out of here. Can you boys suffer another death on your poor, abused little consciences?"

Donald stood, his shaking slowly easing as he looked at both the Winchesters, his eyes alight with something like malicious amusement as he looked at their conflicted faces. It was now blatantly obvious to Tony that there were things going on here that he couldn't even hope to comprehend. Clearly the Winchesters were much more aware of what was happening then he was. Until he found out that that light show had been an elaborate hoax between serial killers, he wasn't going to make any moves that could potentially worsen the situation. Even as he watched, Donald's gaze stopped on Dean, all three having long forgotten that there were others in the room with them.

"He's in here you know. Watching what's happening. Begging for help, _screaming_ for you to save him. I'm sure you know how it is Dean." Here Donald's eyes flashed, his smile becoming something so sadistic that Tony hadn't even known it was possible for a human face to convey it. "After all, I heard you broke so _prettily_ in hell."

Tony's thoughts skittered to a halt even as he watched Dean's expression twist, the older Winchester taking an angry step forward before his expression abruptly closed off, becoming something hard and unforgiving.

"You know, Meg. You should be begging us to kill you, not coming up with reasons for us to keep you alive."

Dean's voice was as cold as his face, his tone flat and terrifying. Donald didn't seem affected, merely cocking an eyebrow and putting a hand on his hip.

"Oh?"

Dean nodded, starting to casually pace around the parts of the circle he could reach, his eyes never leaving Donald's.

"Oh yeah. You see, like you said I spent some time in hell. Forty years, as I'm sure you know. Thirty of them I was tortured by _Alistair himself_." Here Dean stopped in front of Donald, Tony watching everything, his face pale. If this was actually possible, if he actually believed what Dean was saying...

"And I did break, though admittedly after having 'Picasso-with-a-knife' doing everything within his demonic power to break me, it's a bit understandable. But after being carved up for thirty years and then spending ten years _doing_ the carving. Well, you tend to pick up a few things."

Dean was staring Donald in the eyes, eyes which Tony could see were once again completely black, as if there was nothing there at all.

"You know, I heard you spent some time being taught by Alistair, but you know what? No matter how long he taught you, it's not you that the others remember. It's not _you_ whose name some demons still fear, it's not _you_ who the demons still call 'Alistair's Apprentice'. And you know what Meg? I'm not too happy with you. You shouldn't be telling us to let you live, you should be begging us to let you _die_."

At that Dean took a step back, his eyes like chips of green glass. For the first time since Tony truly began this whole shitty adventure, he was honest-to-God scared of Dean Winchester, in a way that Tony hadn't really feared _anyone_ before.

But it wasn't over, even as he watched, his mouth completely dry and his hair standing on end; Tony could see Sam stepping forward, his eyes just as blankly terrifying as his brothers.

"That's not even starting on me Meg. You know, there are different levels in hell? The deeper you are, the bigger the time difference. The Cage is the deepest you can go, and I threw myself in there with two Archangels who weren't very happy with me for helping to stop their little Apocalypse. That deep in the Pit, a day up here is a hundred years down there. So while top side I was only gone for three quarters of a day, down below I was stuck with Michael and Lucifer for _seventy years_. And you know, the last time me and you met, you had two of our best friends brutally killed. So you see, me and Dean, there's _nothing_ more we would like than to torture you. To break you down until you forget there's even a world that exists outside of _pain_."

For Tony, a cold sweat had formed on his temple and all along his shoulders. While he didn't know if what the Winchesters had said was the truth (and after what he had just seen, who the fuck knew?), he did know that he was honestly terrified of them. Right now they both looked exactly like the serial killers they had been portrayed as, hell they looked _worse_, their eyes hard and so unforgiving that he actually found himself holding his breath so as not to attract their attention. But while he apparently found those little speeches scary on a whole new level, Donald apparently didn't share his opinion, as the psycho actually began to _laugh_.

"You two really think you can break _me_? I've spent _centuries_ in hell, I've been tortured in ways your little minds can't even _conceive_. And you actually think you can do _anything_ that will break me?"

Donald started chuckling helplessly again while Dean took another step forward, now only one step away from the circle. Normally Tony would have warned him about getting too close, but it really seemed that the guy couldn't get out. So he'd leave it, for now.

"Yes, we can break you. Actually, yes we _will_ break you. And we will _enjoy_ it."

Donald, who had been bent over with the force of his laughter, suddenly snapped straight, his eyes flashing black.

"Then let's do something that deserves it, hmm?"

And with that he threw the knife they had all forgotten in his hand, straight at Dean. Dean was far too close to dodge, and nobody was near enough to pull him out of the way. Tony could only stare as there was a solid 'thunk' and Dean spun on his feet, the blade buried to the hilt in his chest, his eyes wide with surprise.

xXx

_*cackles*_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Of Hunters and Agents**_

_**By Night Flame Miko**_

_**An**__: Ok. This is me a week and a half ago:_

"_Dum de dum. Yay for internet and yay for updating OHAA."_

_This is me about eight days ago:_

"_Internet? Where did you go? In-ter-net...Noooo!"_

_[Faint sobbing sounds in background]_

_This is me this morning:_

"_My __**precious**__. Mommy is never going to let you go again. Whose a good internet? *strokes computer* That's right! You are!"_

_I think that about sums up my recent life._

_So, other than that, I have to say that I am immensely amused by the responses to my last chapter. I hadn't really thought about it, but apparently that actually _was _the worst cliff-hanger I've ever subjected my readers to. Which makes it kind of ironic that the internet decided to kill itself __**now**__, because I had come to realise even I couldn't handle my own cliff-hanger, so I have no idea how you people managed._

_It made me all warm and fuzzy inside to get these enraged __death threats__ reviews as well as a few people commenting on the relative blackness of my soul. It's good to know I'm apparently touching enough people with my story to warrant incredulous disbelief and unmitigated anger ;P_

_So, as always, I hope it came out ok._

_And thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially those of you who came up with descriptive metaphors and incorporated liberal amounts of sarcasm. Those are always the most fun._

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing but this plot_

xXx

_And with that he threw the knife they had all forgotten in his hand, straight at Dean. Dean was far too close to dodge, and nobody was near enough to pull him out of the way. Tony could only stare as there was a solid 'thunk' and Dean spun on his feet, the blade buried to the hilt in his chest, his eyes wide with surprise._

Dean hit the floor with a muffled 'thump', and for a long moment there was only stunned silence from the onlookers, as if they couldn't quite compute what had just happened. The moment was broken as Dean weakly turned on his back, his hand wrapped around the blade in his chest.

And then Donald began to laugh, and just like that they were all snapped out of their momentary stillness. Tony and Gibbs were by Dean's side in an instant. Out of the corner of his eye Tony could see Sam lurch forward before stopping, trapped out in the hallway with Donald between them. Donald just laughed, making no attempt to move, something that Tony was starting to believe had a lot to do with the bloody symbol above him.

"_Dean._"

As Gibbs started murmuring lowly to Dean, Tonys' gaze locked on Sam, whose voice had been so shattered that Tony was honestly surprised that he wasn't crying. He wasn't the only one who heard the broken word, as Donald abruptly stopped laughing and his head snapped up to look at Sam, a grotesque smile spread across his face.

"Poor Sammy, always _just too late_. Aren't you?"

At that Sam's eyes jerked from Dean's prone form to land on Donald, where his expression hardened and he raised his hand, palm open once again.

"Bad move Meg."

Donald barely had time to widen his eyes before Sam clenched a fist and _yanked_. There was hardly time for the lights. Rather Sam's eyes flashed black, there was an unearthly echoed scream from Donald and a small explosion of light from within him. A second moment of stillness occurred before he abruptly collapsed, like all his strings had been cut.

Sam didn't waste a moment; he was by his brothers' side so fast that Gibbs only just got out of the way before Sam was crouched over Dean, his hands fluttering uselessly above the blade's hilt.

At the motion Dean cracked his eyes open, his mouth stretching into a grin, the sight ruined by the thin line of blood trickling down his cheek.

"Tell me you got the bitch Sammy."

Sam let out a muffled sound, his hands eventually stopping on either side of the blade,

"Yeah, Dean, I got her."

Dean's grin widened before he let out a stifled cough, his forehead creased in pain. Tony felt absolutely useless, what could he do? What _was_ there to do? He knew wounds, and this one was so far into 'fatal' it wasn't even funny. The fact that Dean was still holding on at all was nothing short of a miracle.

"_Finally_. That bitch-"

Another wet cough and more blood speckled on Dean's chin. Across from Tony, Sam made a low noise in his throat, startlingly close to a whine.

"-'s been a _pain_ in the _ass_."

Sam voice was soft, his attention absolutely focussed on his brother.

"Yeah, Dean. She has."

It was painful to watch, the younger brother clearly trying to hold it together for Dean, though it was brutally obvious that Sam was about one more sentence away from tears.

Tony couldn't help looking for Gibbs. His boss had always had a plan, back-up, _something_ to stop the worst from happening. But Gibbs was crouched a few feet away, and Tony could see that for the first time, his boss was as helpless as he was. There was simply _nothing_ they could do.

Oh the irony that it was the _Agents_ who wanted to save the serial killer this time. Though, of course, by this point Tony was really starting to question the second part of that statement.

"Sammy."

Dean seemed to suddenly gain a second wind, as he took his brothers wrist in one hand and squeezed, his attention briefly and intensely focussed on Sam.

"If I wake up and find out you made a Deal, the _Apocalypse_ will look small. Ya hear me?"

Sam's expression tightened but when his brother simply stared at him, waiting for his acknowledgement, he eventually gave a stiff nod.

"No demon deals, I swear."

Dean spent a long moment simply looking at Sam, before he finally seemed to accept that and let himself slump back, his expression abruptly loosing focus.

"Is it sad that this seems routine?"

Dean's voice was muffled and Tony couldn't help his eyes widening, flicking his gaze between the brothers and Gibbs. Tony didn't know if he believed half of what was going on; hell he didn't even _understand_ most of it. But even he couldn't mistake that statement, and the fact that Sam only smiled grimly, his hand turning to grip his brothers, made it all worse. Sam seemed to recognise that Dean was slipping away.

"Give 'em hell for me, Dean."

Dean coughed another laugh at that, before giving one last grin to his brother.

"See ya Bitch."

"Later, Jerk."

When Dean's last breath rattled out and he finally lay still there was a second where no-one did anything. Tony couldn't help but to wonder where to go from here. Their serial killer was dead, another alleged serial killer was dead and the brother of said alleged murderer was curved over his brother, head bent and far too still.

Tony's thoughts were confirmed when Sam abruptly leapt out of his stillness, standing up to pace the length of the room, his expression hard and blank.

"Hey man...Sam."

Sam glanced briefly at him, but didn't seem to really be hearing him. Standing up Tony thought about trying to snap Sam out of it, but stopped when a firm hand landed on his shoulder. Glancing up he met Gibb's eyes, his boss giving a firm shake of his head.

"Give him a few minutes. He needs some time."

Gibbs held his eyes for a few seconds before lifting his hand and returning his attention to the younger Winchester. Tony sighed but complied, watching Sam as he paced back and forth by his brothers dead body, mumbling something to himself under his breath.

After 5 minutes or so of this, both Tony and Gibbs wondered if they should step in. Normally most people need 2-3 minutes at most to go beyond denial and into the breaking down stage, yet it seemed Sam had taken a left turn somewhere and now was looking for a solution to _death_. Even with a more open mind-set, there were some things that Tony just couldn't accept; bringing people back was one of them. Otherwise, if it was so easy, why wouldn't more people do it?

Distracted by his thoughts as he was, Tony was quite startled when Sam suddenly made an exclamation and in two long strides he was over to Donald's body.

"Hey! What're you-"

Tony cut himself off as Sam began rummaging through Donald's jacket, seemingly searching for something. It was only now that Tony could see that Donald, who had previously been alive and uninjured, was now broken and bleeding. Blood stains forming and bruises appearing as if by magic, across what could be seen of his body. The most telling was the pool forming under his head. If Tony hadn't been there, he would have sworn the guy had been beaten to death.

"What are you looking for?"

This was Gibbs, who had also clearly had a moment of shock about the state of the body, though he had managed to snap himself out of it much faster than Tony with familiar Gibbs bull-headedness.

Sam glanced up before unzipping the jacket and rifling through the inner pockets.

"She set up a signal so we could use the phone lines right? So she must have had somethi-"

Abruptly he leaned back and brandished what looked like a small remote control, handmade by the look of it.

"Yes! If we activate this we should have signal again!"

Sam looked it over for a second before flipping the only available switch, Tony only just had a moment to realise that that was an incredibly stupid thing to do. What if it was actually rigged to explosives, or something?

Thankfully, it apparently wasn't, as all that happened were various beeps within the room as their phones alerted them to any missed calls and texts while they had been unavailable.

Immediately Tony, Gibbs and Sam reached for their phones, each intent on reaching various forms of help. Sam must have noticed them because he was suddenly across the room and gripping Tonys' hand and phone, staring at him and Gibbs pleadingly.

"Can you wait a few minutes? Please?"

"Why?"

Gibbs' answer may have seemed abrupt to Sam, but considering he didn't just ignore Sam and continue, it was a good sign he was willing to listen.

"I have a...friend, who may be able to...help. Just, please, trust me...just for one minute."

Tony jerked and he could see Gibbs' eyes narrow. That was a pretty high demand, especially considering that a few hours ago (hell, a few minutes really), they had been convinced these two were serial killers themselves and now they were being asked to _trust him_? But still...if there was something, _anything_ that could be done...why not give it a shot? It couldn't be weirder than some apparently demon possessed guy having lightning destroy him from the inside out.

He and Gibbs shared a look before his boss slowly closed his phone and gave a tight nod to the youngest Winchester who gave such a relieved smile in return that it was almost immediately worth it. Tony had always hated seeing people in distress; it was what made him such a good cop.

Sam immediately started tapping out some numbers on his phone, taking a few automatic steps away, seemingly not aware that he was now once again standing protectively over his brother's dead body.

The silence was broken by the ringtone, both NCIS Agents watching the youngest Winchester as his eyes flickered restlessly around the room. The phone had hardly rung a third time before it was abruptly picked up, a gruff voice on the other end launching into what sounded like a rehearsed tirade,

"_Sam, ya idjit! Where are you? You were supposed to keep in touch!"_

It was quite remarkable, Sam's whole posture seemed to relax for a second before he visibly pulled himself together.

"Bobby, something's happened."

There was silence on the other end before 'Bobby' spoke again, his gruff voice laced with barely hidden worry,

"_What? Are you boys ok?_"

Sam took in a quietly shuddering breath, his expression hardening as he glanced down at his brother.

"Yeah, we're fine. Look, we need some help. I managed to get myself abducted as well, and we think there are Enochian sigils up so Cas can't find us. Could you put Crowley on the phone please?"

This time the silence that followed was filled with tension.

"_You're not telling me somethin' boy. Why d'ya need Crowley? You're not plannin' somethin' stupid are you? I know that tone, and it says nothin' good's about ta happen."_

Sam sighed, his expression contrite but still hard,

"Look Bobby, I'm sorry but we don't have a lot of time. Could you just, _please_, put Crowley on? I think he might be the only one able to help."

There was an exasperated sigh on the other end before Bobby finally answered,

"_Ok, I'll put him on, but if I find out you've done somethin' stupid, I'll tan yer hide so bad John'll feel it. Ya hear me boy_?"

Sam grimaced,

"Yes sir."

"_Good._"

There was the faint sound of talking in the background before a cultured British voice answered.

"_Sam. Well isn't this a surprise."_

Sam's eyes flashed and his whole stance seemed to adjust, becoming that bit more dangerous.

"Crowley, I need your help. Can you get over here?"

"_Well, that depends."_

Sam straightened and slashed a hand to the side, his eyes focussed and vaguely terrifying.

"No. You get here _five seconds ago_, or so help me God; I will _hunt you down_ and _end_ you."

With that Sam snapped his phone shut and glared darkly at a wall. Tony wondered exactly what Sam was expecting, even if the guy was going to come, _how_ exactly was he-

"Now that was just rude, Winchester."

Tony actually felt his heart stop as that British voice spoke.

From _right behind him_.

Spinning around, Tony was greeted by the sight of a posh looking man, average height with short dark hair and a faintly condescending smirk on his face. Sam stepped up beside Tony, and unlike said Agent, he didn't look at all surprised that some guy just appeared out of fricken _nowhere_.

The guy, Crowley, snapped his own phone shut with a decisive click before his eyes scanned the room; taking in everything with a detached yet mildly interested look. Said look sharpened when they scanned the walls, the dark eyes snapping to the body on the ground as if something on them had clued him in on the situation.

Then he smiled and his eyes settled on Sam, his hands shoved into his pockets and looking positively delighted with what he was seeing.

"Tut tut, Sam. Looks like you morons managed to get yourselves in a little situation..._again_."

Sam let out a sound startlingly close to a growl before taking a deep breath and visibly reeling himself in. Crowley took the opportunity to step closer to the body, his eyes perfunctorily scanning over it before moving over and staring at a wall, looking far more interested in the empty cement than the body of someone he had apparently known. Tony couldn't quite comprehend just how _cold_ this guy was.

Sam stared after Crowley, looking slightly puzzled, before giving a closer look at the walls; as if staring at them harder would make something magically appear on the cement.

"What? What is it Crowley?"

Crowley answered in the form of a long, impressed whistle.

"Bloody hell, you boys _really_ pissed someone off." He glanced over Donald's body before stepping back and grinning sharply at Sam. "If you hadn't off-ed her, I might have had to give her a promotion for _this_." He gave a lazy wave at the wall, his eyes roaming appreciatively over the room before finally stopping on Sam, who was looking understandably worried.

"What are you going on about Crowley? What'd she do?"

Crowley smirked, stalking up to a different wall and tracing a finger over patterns they couldn't see. "The demon, whoever she was, didn't just put up Enochian sigils to stop your feathered friend from busting in. She tied in a ritual, a _blood_ ritual. It's trapping the souls of those killed in this maze and...judging by the this destabilisation and annihilation sequence..." He whistled again, his posh voice sounding slightly awed.

Sam, on the other hand, was looking far from happy. To be honest, Tony could understand completely, whatever the guy was going on about didn't sound at all like good news.

"What Crowley? What is this thing doing with Deans soul?"

Crowley didn't react, not even to flinch when Sam stalked up to him and wrenched him around to face the aggravated Winchester. He simply gave a pointed look at the hand on his shoulder, waiting until it withdrew before brushing off some imaginary dirt, waiting until Sam gave another low growl to answer.

"She's made sure that the souls are trapped here, unable to go on, where they will be slowly ripped apart. Unravelled at the metaphysical seams. It's absolutely _gorgeous_ work. Must have taken _centuries_ to come up with a viable sequence and permissible location..."

Sam's and Tony's eyes had widened with every word, Crowley obviously enjoying their horrified looks before Gibbs voice broke in.

"Well? Is there anything we can do?"

Their eyes snapped over to Gibbs, who was standing with his usual straight-backed posture, watching Crowley with hard eyes and a frown. That expression had cowed many a higher official, yet it was somewhat disconcerting how Crowley actually seemed to dismiss Gibbs, his eyes never moving far from the younger Winchester. It was clear where he thought the true threat was.

"No. The ritual is tied into the Enochian warding sigils, something I hadn't even thought possible. Once activated they gain holy power, no human or demon can touch them. Only an angel could break this and, ironically enough, the Enochian sigils are keeping the angels out."

At that Sam stepped forward, his expression seemingly caught between pleading and threatening.

"Is there nothing you can do?"

At that Crowley smirked and polished his nails on his jacket, examining them with false interest.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

When he fell silent, Sam took the bait and spoke, his tone becoming more dangerous the longer Crowley played with them.

"What do you want?"

Crowley grinned and met Sam's eyes, looking sadistically amused. Tony wondered if it was because the longer they took the more Dean's soul was placed in danger.

"Nothing much, just a small Deal. I'm sure you understand."

Sam's eyes darkened and he drew himself up,

"What? You want my soul in exchange for Dean's life?"

Tony blinked, taken aback at the question. This didn't sound good at all. He was somewhat relieved when Crowley blinked and snorted,

"What do you think I am, an idiot? The last time you two morons played soul hockey you started the Apocalypse. No I won't bring him back, but I know someone who can. All I want is a little insurance."

Sam considered for a second before gesturing with a hand for Crowley to continue.

"I tell you what you want to know, in exchange neither of you Winchesters will in any way, shape or form attempt to harm or sabotage me or Bobby for as long as we continue our...arrangement. This includes gaining outside help."

Crowley grinned as Sam blinked, obviously surprised by the terms before the ex-pre-Law student named his own.

"Fine, but you have to tell me exactly what I want to know. No riddles, half truths or misleading information."

Crowley considered, his head tipped to the side and eyes half lidded, briefly reminding Tony of a serpent regarding its prey before striking. Finally he gave a sharp half-smile. "I think we have ourselves a Deal."

Sam grimaced and seemed ready when Crowley suddenly reached forward, gripping the lapels of his shirt and pulling the considerably larger man down with ridiculous ease. Tony had stiffed, prepared for anything...except a kiss. He and Gibbs could only stare in shock as the two men, who they both could have sworn would have rather stabbed than look at each other, kissed one another rather passionately before abruptly breaking apart.

On his part, Sam looked disgusted and started vigorously rubbing at his lips as if pulling a Lady Macbeth and trying to erase the inerasable. Crowley just watched Sam, looking vaguely amused.

"Oh get over it. You Winchesters are such children sometimes."

Sam just grimaced, though he did stop rubbing at his lips.

"Is the kiss seriously necessary? I swear you crossroad demons are making shit up just to screw with people."

Crowley gave a horribly fake gasp and clutched his chest,

"Would I do something like that?"

Sam just looked at him and Crowley grinned before walking over to Dean's body and looking him over, talking as he gave a deeper examination.

"Yes, the kiss is necessary. It's tradition, and as I'm sure you've picked up; we demons are _all about_ the tradition."

There was a brief silence as Crowley looked Dean over before Tony couldn't help himself anymore.

"Ok, what the hell was that?"

Sam glanced at him, but it was Crowley that held Tony's attention, if only because of the look he was getting from the guy (demon?). Whereas Crowley had seemed to have a mild tolerance for the Winchesters, when he looked at Tony there was pure disdain written across his face. Tony actually flinched before hardening his resolve and returning the look, glare for glare. Crowley raised an eyebrow at that before flicking his eyes over to Sam and giving a lazy shrug.

"We simply came to a mutual agreement, amnesty for information, if you will."

Sam crossed his arms and raised his own eyebrow, his eyes briefly glancing down to Dean's body and back up,

"Speaking of. Spill Crowley, who's this person that can save Dean?"

At that Crowley actually full on grinned,

"Well, here's a little something I'm sure you idiots didn't know. Enochian sigils are only as strong as the demon who inscribes them. _This_ demon may have been pretty strong, but she's got nothing on an Archangel. All you need is to call a big guy down and they'll be able to break through, destroying the ritual and patch up your brother."

Tony stared at the demon in disbelief whilst Sam seemed to get angry at something.

"I know this is fairly new, but Cas was promoted, he _is_ an Archangel and-"

Sam gestured around them, his eyes pinched and angry, "-he can't get here."

Crowley tutted and shook his head at that, causing Sam to stiffen. Tony was kind of worried that Sam was going to launch himself at the guy if this continued.

"Exactly Sammy-boy. Castiel is _new_. He can probably hear you calling him, but he has a hard enough time with those doodles on your ribs, let alone the sigils on the walls. In fact, he's probably having a mini-angel break down, considering he can probably tell Moron No. 1 is dead and yet can't find his soul."

Sam let out a long breath, hissing out between his clenched teeth. It was clear that Crowley was delighted with everything that was taking place and was drawing it out for his own sadistic amusement. Tony was personally of the opinion that if Sam attacked, he wouldn't stop him, more like hang back and cheer the big lug on.

"So what then? In case you've forgotten, two Archangels are in the cage _because _of us, one is dead and one wants us dead. We don't have many options here."

Crowley cocked his head and smirked at the younger Winchester,

"Who said he was dead?"

At that Sam froze and slowly turned from where he had started pacing, his full attention on Crowley. Tony and Gibbs were just as focussed. If you took out the part where everything they were talking about sounded insane, then it was all absolutely _fascinating_.

"Gabriel's _alive_?"

xXx

_An:_

_I'm sorry for the delay. I had actually planned for this chapter to go further, but I could feel my will running out. And this is such a fun place to end it XD_

_Also, some people have mentioned how loud the phone settings must be, for the Agents to be able to hear the whole conversation and vice versa._

_To be honest, I think that underground with no one else talking, it must be quiet as the grave down there. It would almost be harder _not_ to hear what is said than not. If that doesn't cut it, then Sam and Deans hearing is shot from Dean's music in the Impala, Tony something similar and Gibbs never learned how to turn his phones volume down. So there :P_


	8. Chapter 8

**_Of Hunters and Agents_**

**_By Night Flame Miko_**

**_An_**_: You know, I'm actually surprised by how many people didn't see Dean's death coming. For some reason, one of the Winchesters dying in front of the Agents just seemed like an inevitability to me, I mean it's not like they don't die an awful lot anyway._

_Though I can honestly say that you guys have **no idea** how tempted I was to have Sam say, "Youkilled my brother, prepare to **die**!" instead of "Bad move Meg."_

_Damn those Princess Bride quotes, they are so tempting in their sneaky awesomeness._

_Also, all of your responses to the Gabriel thing made me die. For some reason this seemed just as obvious to me when I was writing it, and yet it wasn't until I had posted and gotten another surprised/ecstatic review that I realised that maybe this was going a bit off the beaten path...again. Yay for accidentally being awesome XP_

_In my version of reality, I honestly cannot have a Spn crossover of any kind that does not, in some way, include both Crowley and Gabriel. They're too awesome to ignore (or kill, you Directing bastards)._

_So anyway. Hope you all enjoy and that it was worth the wait._

**_Disclaimer_**_: I own nothing but this plot_

xXx

_"Gabriel's **alive**?"_

Tony blinked at Sams honestly surprised response, as though an Archangel apparently being _dead_ was a well known and undisputable fact. Tony was still trying to get his mind around the fact that Archangels could apparently die in the first place...or you know...exist..._at all_.

Crowley actually seemed marginally surprised as well, although that surprise was heavily outweighed by his amusement by, apparently, life in general.

"You can't tell me you're truly surprised Winchester. You may have missed it, but those who sacrificed themselves for your little cause had about a 70% chance of being resurrected. I challenge anyone who says God doesn't play favourites to look at you idiots and not change their mind."

Sam blinked at that before shaking his head and getting back on track. Tony felt much like doing the same or, you know, pinching himself and seeing if he would wake up. That 'twilight zone' feeling he'd been pushing back whilst there was a potentially homicidal serial killer in the room was increasingly returning. Maybe he'd just gone crazy? Hallucinogenic's in the air? Then again Tony wasn't sure he wanted to be in a position where he and his boss are both high. That situation was almost crazier than demons and angels really existing.

"So how long has Gabriel been back? If he was here at the end..."

Sam's eyes flashed and although he didn't actually move, Tony still got the impression that he was getting ready to exact violent revenge on someone. He kind of wished he could do that; it would be great for intimidating suspects.

Crowley just shrugged and returned to examining his nails, seemingly uninterested in the conversation.

"Oh, I wouldn't blame him. He couldn't take part in your little confrontation; he was otherwise occupied at the time."

Sam paused, taking that in for a long second before his eyes sharpened and he turned a raised brow on Crowley.

"Otherwise occupied as in 'molecules currently spread across the cosmos', or otherwise occupied as in 'needed to go pick up some groceries'?"

Crowley froze before he slowly grinned and looked back at Sam, raising a hand to wipe away an imaginary tear.

"Remember when you were all bright eyed and gullible? Now look at you. Sammy's all grown up! Well you're right, otherwise occupied as in 'didn't actually exist at the time the showdown took place' would be more accurate."

Sam sighed and wiped a hand down his face, muttering something that sounded a lot like 'fucking demons', though Crowley grinned like it was a compliment. Once Sam had regained himself he glanced at Crowley, seemingly exasperated.

"So what? Do I just call for him or pray or..."

Crowley spread his hands and gave a half-hearted shrug, his attention dragging back to the walls, clearly trying to memorise as much of whatever was on them before they were apparently destroyed by an _Archangel_.

Tony got the distinct impression his life had taken a left turn somewhere. By this point he had sort of resigned himself and was just sitting back for the ride. He would ask all his questions when shit stopped happening.

"Whichever floats your boat, though praying may be less effective, considering these sigils..."

Crowley trailed off before flipping open a notebook in one hand and clicking a pen in another as he started anxiously copying what was on the walls, acting as though he had been holding both items all this time. Tony struggled with the knowledge that pen and paper _hadn't_ been there before the demon started using them, before just shrugging and letting it go. Clearly this was a different game and he just didn't know the rules yet, for now he'd leave it be until there was time to set up the parameters of this reality. Glancing at Gibbs, his boss was watching the demon with narrowed eyes, his arms crossed and a stern frown on his face but he too didn't say anything. Clearly he had reached the same conclusion as Tony, not that Tony was surprised, he _had_ learned from the best after all; a little thing like the supernatural really existing wasn't likely to throw off Gibbs' game.

Sam watched Crowley as well, but unlike the Agents he had no qualms about confronting a demon.

"Crowley, don't you think you should leave? I mean I am about to call down an Archangel and they tend to get a little..._smitey_ around demons."

Crowley paused long enough to wave a hand at the younger Winchester before quickly returning to his rough sketches of the things only he could see,

"Aw, didn't know you cared Winchester. Don't worry about me. I have an...Arrangement with Gabriel."

Sam grimaced, it was pretty obvious he was actually trying to stop the demon from getting a copy of whatever was on the wall. With that tactic gone Tony wasn't that surprised when Sam shrugged and tipped his head back to yell at the ceiling.

"Gabriel! Gabriel, I need your help! Get here ASAP!"

Sam paused and drew breath, obviously planning on just keeping on going until he got a response. Personally Tony wondered how long that would be, I mean this was apparently an _Archangel_, they probably had more important crap to worry about than answering the call of one human.

Of course that was right before all the sound seemed to suck itself out of the room, the air stilled and even though Tony could see Crowley's pen skidding across paper, the demon muttering lowly to himself, he couldn't hear a thing. This stillness seemed to last for a few long seconds before the walls started smoking, symbols burning themselves into the cement as a pressure began to fill the room.

For a second it was like the walls were caving, it felt like there was suddenly no space to move at all and Tony realised belatedly that he had started hyperventilating, even as he and Gibbs dropped to their knees, Sam and Crowley somehow remaining standing despite the unearthly pressure and unnatural silence.

Just when the pressure would have been too much, everything seemed to pause, everyone forcefully stopped moving (even Crowley) and then with a sound like cymbals clashing all sound rushed back and the pressure released itself with a flash of light from the symbols surrounding them, leaving blackened markings and a short man standing in the middle of the room, grinning at the younger Winchester.

"Sammy! Long time no see!" 'Gabriel' glanced at a wall and whistled softly, "Hooey, it's been a while since I've had to do that!"

Tony winced, the sounds seeming abrupt after the silence, before pushing himself to his feet and examining the person that was apparently _Gabriel the Archangel_. Tony didn't quite know how to take it. He had been imagining someone a lot like...well, Sam Winchester to be honest. Someone tall, imposing, and inherently dangerous. Instead he gets a short guy with funny hair that was apparently sucking a lollipop and grinning far too much for an angel.

Sam, on the other hand, seemed to slump with a bit of relief before grinning back at Gabriel, expression a stark mixture of sadness and relief.

"We thought you were dead."

Gabriel shrugged, his eyes not leaving Sam, like his gaze was trapped there,

"I was kiddo, but apparently my Grace imploding isn't nearly as permanent as it used to be." Gabriel paused for a second, seeming to realise something, "But if you still thought I was dead, then why'd you-"

Gabriel had started scanning the room as he talked and now his eyes came to rest on Crowley, said demon was switching between glaring at the blackened wall and Gabriel, clearly blaming the Archangel for ruining whatever was written there.

"Oh, hey Demon."

Crowley's glare increased, though an eyebrow did rise, as if taking the word as a challenge.

"Hello, Pagan."

"Hell spawn."

"Archangel."

"Opportunist."

"Pessimist."

"Backstabber."

"Daddy's boy."

"Oh you did _not_ just go there."

Gabriel raised a hand, looking like he was about to snap his fingers, before Crowley grinned and spread his hands,

"I win."

Gabriel slowly dropped his hand and, honest to God, pouted.

"Yeah well, it's been a while. You can go suck it, Crowley."

Crowley smirked, seemingly not put off at all. Sam was watching everything with a raised brow, having notably not made a move to help Crowley when it looked like the Archangel was about to smite him. Not that Tony blamed him; personally he never wanted to get between an Archangel and something he wanted dead, even if the guy was barely five foot and pouting ridiculously.

Finally Gabriel sighed and returned his attention to Sam, pulling the sucker out of his mouth (when it got back there, Tony had no clue),

"So what'd you call me for Sammy-boy? It sounded important."

Sam's gaze immediately darkened and he glanced at his feet where his brother lay, somehow unnoticed by Gabriel. Said Archangel took one look before letting loose a string of vitriol (some of which was in languages that Tony was _certain _didn't exist anymore) that made even Crowley's eyebrows touch his hairline in surprise, his mouth twisted in reluctant admiration.

"I leave you two alone for _one year_ after the Apocalypse and _already_ one of you is dead! For the love of Dad, how did you two even make it to adulthood?"

Sam grimaced and gave a half shrug, crouching down and lightly touching his brothers hand before glancing up at Gabriel who was scowling at the Winchesters as if they had somehow personally offended him.

"I know Gabriel, just...can you bring him back? Please?"

Gabriel actually winced, his eyes closing for a second before he stared down at Sam, who was looking up at the Archangel with _that_ face. The one he used on his brother that made you feel like his whole existence would shatter if you didn't just do as he asked, though in this case Tony couldn't help but wonder whether he really _would_ break. It didn't take much to see that the brothers were all they really had, without each other they may as well have nothing.

"I'm sorry Kiddo. I'm on a bit of a time-out right now. I'm not allowed to abuse my powers or else 'Bye-Bye Gabriel'."

Sams' expression twisted, though he didn't move from where he knelt, looking up at Gabriel like the other held his life in his hands.

"What do you mean 'time-out'?"

Gabriel shrugged, a vaguely resentful expression briefly rising before his grin stretched back into place.

"While apparently sacrificing myself to save your sorry asses is enough to warrant a resurrection, it apparently isn't enough to erase a couple millennia's worth of drunken debauchery and false deification."

Sam blinked before letting out a slightly hollow laugh,

"And, you know, killing a couple hundred people for your own morbid amusement and sense of justice."

Gabriel shrugged and put on a look of mock confusion,

"I thought that came under false deification."

There was a brief silence during which Tony felt vaguely ill. What did they mean 'killing a couple hundred people'? Wasn't Gabriel an Archangel? Surely that wasn't true; he couldn't have killed so many people, especially not for something like 'morbid amusement'. How could Sam be talking with such camaraderie about something so horrific?

The silence was broken by Sam, who had been staring down at his brother, clearly thinking everything through.

"What constitutes 'abuse'?"

He glanced up at Gabriel who had been silently watching the younger Winchester, along with everyone else, clearly wondering what he was going to do now.

Gabriel shrugged, eyebrows dipping in thought as he absently sucked on his lollipop. Tony could have sworn it was red the last time he looked; now it was purple.

"I can't kill anyone, that's for sure. You know, I don't really know what Dad considers abuse, though I imagine it's anything a normal Archangel's not allowed to do."

Sam lifted his head completely, his eyes sharp and expression hopeful.

"So you _could_ bring him back? You don't know if you're not allowed to do that?"

Gabriel shrugged but gestured with his lollipop at Deans body,

"Like I said, I'm not sure, but I'm fairly certain that bringing someone back from the dead for no apparent reason would constitute as abuse."

Sam glanced around the room before gesturing at the ceiling with a hand, his eyes getting brighter as he gained conviction.

"I'm not seeing any pre-emptive dissuasion, are you? Why don't youjust ask? Say you're going to bring him back; if that's a no-no in God's book then he has to give us a sign."

Gabriel raised a sceptical eyebrow,

"I'm sure it doesn't work like that..." As Sam's face started to twist towards devastation, apparently thinking the Archangel wasn't even going to try, Gabriel hastily backtracked.

"Though I could always give it a try, but if I die I expect you to take it up with Dad and have him bring me back."

It was said playfully but Sam nodded, as if _of course_ he would just go to God and demand he bring back the Archangel. Even Gabriel looked vaguely surprised that Sam was willing to go through with his teasing suggestion. Gabriel stared at the younger Winchester before shaking his head, a small smile on his lips as he turned honey coloured eyes to the ceiling, eyes narrowing on the devils trap before dismissing it,

"Hey Dad, if you've got any problems with me bringing Deano back, I suggest you let me know in the next five seconds...1..2..3...Nothing? Well then I feel I should let you know that I take silence as tacit consent...Still nothing? Well then...thanks."

Sam looked ridiculously hopeful once more and Tony couldn't help but to hope as well, if anything could bring back Dean Winchester, then an Archangel would be it. Though Tony did find the irony of this amusing, as now _he_ was the one hoping _Dean Winchester_ wouldn't stay dead. Life sure seemed to love its curveballs.

"So you'll do it?"

Gabriel gave another shrug before his eyes narrowed and even Tony could see them gain a mischievous spark.

"Yeah, but I want you to promise something first."

Tony was a bit surprised by how instantly wary Sam became, like he distrusted the angel as much as he had distrusted the demon.

"What, eternal servitude?"

There was something scary in the way Sam said that. Sure, there was the requisite sarcasm, but underneath was a layer of consideration; like if Gabriel actually asked it of him Sam would seriously consider it, if it would bring his brother back. Tony found the idea of that slightly terrifying.

But Gabriel just waggled his eyebrows and adopted a leer, something Tony found a bit disconcerting on the face of an Archangel.

"Sounds like fun, Sammy, but I get the feeling that comes under 'abuse'. Nah, just small things. Like no attempting to off or trap me if I ever pop in, that includes Deano and Singer. Also, I would appreciate it if you guys gave me a call if you need help; it's easier if I don't have to revive you idiots _after_ you've died. Less like I'm playing favourites, you see."

Sam's eyebrows were actually touching his hairline, they were so far up.

"You actually _want_ to help? Who are you and what have you done with Gabriel?"

At that Gabriel sneered.

"Ha bloody ha, Sam. I'll have you know that the only reason I didn't want to help you before is because you were asking me to _murder_ _my brother_. And, I'll have you note, in the end I _did_ try and I _did_ die. And I did it _for you_. After going through all that, is it any wonder I want you two to _stay alive_."

Throughout his short speech, Gabriel's voice didn't change in pitch, but that didn't stop a chill from working its way up Tony's spine. Just listening in on the conversations the Winchesters had with everyone was like starting an awesome action movie halfway through, there are references to past awesomeness but no extrapolation. It was actually really frustrating. What was worse was the feeling Tony got that not all of his questions would be answered.

On Sam's part, he looked equal parts sad, sheepish and guilty. Sighing he reached out with a spread hand.

"I'm sorry Gabriel. That was uncalled for."

Gabriel just grinned and took a bite out of a snickers bar that he pulled out of nowhere. Tony was starting to see a theme with this.

"Don't worry about it Kiddo. There were those few incidences before that may have made you a bit biased."

Sam snorted at that,

"Yeah, personally I wasn't too fond of your version of Groundhog Day. Having Tuesday keep repeating after watching my brother die brutally was a bit...aggravating."

Gabriel 'hmm-ed' while he chewed before making a motion with the bar,

"It is quite amazing that you didn't become at all desensitized to his death, even after living through almost a year and a half of it. Have I ever mentioned how stubborn you Winchester's are?"

"You may have mentioned it once or twice, though I admit I wasn't really paying attention, too busy trying to kill or escape from you."

"Yeah...good times."

Sam snorted again before motioning towards his brother lying in front of him.

"You mind fixing him now? Every second we waste his soul is being damaged by a blood ritual...isn't it? Or did Gabriel's entrance break it?"

This was directed at Crowley who had been watching the little dialogue with as much interest as the Agents, though once attention was directed towards him he squinted at the walls before 'hmm-ing'.

"I'm not too sure, it looks like Angel Sr. only damaged the Enochian sigils, but the ritual's covered by all these burn marks. If I were you I would waste time and hope for the best."

Crowley smirked at them before pulling out his mobile and starting to type, apparently becoming bored with the proceedings.

Gabriel blinked at the mention of a blood ritual before staring intently at Sam; Sam seemed used to this kind of behaviour and didn't even blink. Personally Tony found that to be amazing, it looked kind of like Gabriel was stripping Sam apart and reading him down to his soul. There was _no way_ Tony could just take a look like that.

After a few seconds of staring Gabriel abruptly moved forward, crouching by Dean's side and looking him over,

"Why didn't you say so earlier? If I'd known his soul was being slowly ripped apart I would have fixed him first and then done the playful bantering. Don't you realise Cas will angst at me if I let anything happen to Deans' soul?"

Sam grinned at that, watching as Gabriel snapped his fingers, the blade in Dean's chest disappearing and reappearing next to the body, clean and much newer looking. Sam didn't so much as twitch, merely picking it up and sliding it into a sheath at the small of his back. Tony edged around; Gibbs right next to him so they could watch as Gabriel placed his hands on Dean's chest.

At first, nothing really seemed to be happening, when without warning there was a flash of light and the wound was gone. Tony blinked and almost missed when Dean suddenly gasped in a breath of air, his back arching and his eyes snapping open. Along the walls, something under the charred cement glowed blood-red before fading.

Dean simply breathed for a few long seconds, his eyes unfocussed as he regained his bearings, before he seemed to realise where he was and his eyes snapped to his brother, Gabriel, Crowley and back again.

When he finally spoke his voice was a low growl,

"Sam, _what did you do_?"

xXx

_An:_

_Ok. I know. Another cliff-hanger. I'm sorry, but to be honest I've found I'm actually motivated to keep writing if I do this. It seems I can't handle my own cliff-hangers. At least this one isn't as bad right?_

_On an unrelated side note, I'm starting to think that slash has infested my brain. I'm not actually trying to write slash, this fic isn't supposed to have pairings, it's just supposed to be a fun crossover that everyone can enjoy..._

_And yet the slash keeps sneaking in!_

_Like Dean and Tony with their taunting each other, and then Sam and Crowley's kiss (never mind the actual Bobby/Crowley), and now Sam suggesting eternal servitude to Gabriel._

_*headdesk*_

_I'm not even _trying_ and it's happening! Oh well, I won't actually introduce any pairings but I apologise for the squinty slash that keeps ninja-ing in. I can't help myself._


End file.
